Barbara S. Lawrence

Organizational demography: The differential effects of age and tenure distributions on technical communication.

Although previous researchers have proposed organizational demography as an important determinant of communication, no one has tested this relationship directly. Further, distinctions between the i...

Handbook of career theory: Generating new directions in career theory: the case for a transdisciplinary approach

The limitation of social organization is found in the inability of individuals to place themselves in the perspectives of others, to take their points of view. George Herbert Mead, 1927 When we pause in our studies to reflect on theory and method, the greatest yield is a restatement of our problems. C. Wright Mills, 1959 The concept of the career has never been more popular. Once viewed mainly as a synonym for initial job choice, it is now widely accepted as a central feature in employment arrangements. Career development and human resource management programs are not only widely accepted but also seen as critical to both individuals and organizations. Such programs cover a wide range of issues, from individual careers and work–family accommodation, to policy and strategic concerns such as the aging of the work force, adaptation to new technology, and organizational productivity (Gutteridge, 1986; Mills, 1985). However, these trends mean that much of the practice of managing careers has come close to catching up with the body of theory that inspired it (Hall and Associates, 1986). Either career theory has served its purpose and should be laid to rest or it needs a good shot in the arm. We believe this state of affairs exists not because we are done explaining careers, but because work on the topic has moved away from its conceptually rich heritage. As a result, career studies are at risk of addressing increasingly narrow and decreasingly innovative questions. Our view is that a good shot in the arm will help rejuvenate career theory and also help us adapt to the dynamic character of modern industrial society.

Women's and Men's Career Referents: How Gender Composition and Comparison Level Shape Career Expectations

This study examines how women’s and men’s career referents, the people they see as having similar careers, affect career expectations. We raise two questions. First, what is the relative effect of the gender composition and comparison level of career referents on such expectations? Second, what happens to career expectations when women and men identify career referents at the same comparison level? Current research suggests that women have lower career expectations than men because they compare themselves with women who hold lower-level positions than the career referents identified by men. Thus, if women and men identify with similar level career referents, their career expectations should be equal. However, this chain of reasoning has not been tested. Using data collected from a large organization, we identify both the specific individuals women and men perceive as having similar careers and these referents’ career levels, defined as their hierarchical level in the firm. The results show that the level of career referents is more important than their gender composition in explaining individuals’ career expectations. In contrast to extant explanations, the results show that even when women identify career referents at the same levels as men, they still exhibit significantly lower career expectations. Drawing on social comparison theory, we speculate this occurs because men’s expectations are bolstered by extreme upward comparisons, whereas women’s expectations are dampened, perhaps because they see high achieving others as representing a less probable goal.

Identifying Organizational Faultlines With Latent Class Cluster Analysis

Faultline theory proposes that when the distributions of individuals’ attributes in groups are aligned, they create homogeneous subgroups, characterized by within-group similarities and between-group differences. As homogeneity increases, these differences are increasingly likely to acquire meaning to subgroup members and thus to influence behavior. Although the face validity of faultlines is appealing, empirical methods have been difficult. The most commonly used, Fau and FLS, have several limitations, for instance difficulty with integrating nominal, categorical, and continuous variables. This article proposes latent class cluster analysis (LCCA) as an additional analytical tool. After reviewing the literature involving interdependent attributes, the most common faultline measures are described and compared with LCCA. A study of faultlines in a large organization is presented. LCCA induces a five-class model of organizational faultlines. A comparison of work-related communication contacts indicates that subjects have more within-subgroup than between-subgroup contacts, supporting the criterion-related validity of the faultline solution.

Careers, social context and interdisciplinary thinking:

Scholars have engaged in studies of careers, individuals’ work experiences over time, since the early 20th century. Although much has been written about the need for interdisciplinary research, limited work exists. This article presents a comparative technique that facilitates interdisciplinary thinking. Using data from a large organization, three stories are applied to the associations between social context and career outcomes: a different disciplines story, a multiple disciplines story and an interdisciplinary story. The results suggest that the best career satisfaction outcome results from the multiple disciplines story, whereas the best performance and salary outcomes result from the interdisciplinary story.

High Frequency Auditory Response of a Bottlenosed Porpoise, Tursiops Truncatus (Montagu)

Conditioned responses of a bottlenosed porpoise (Tursiops truncatus) showed its upper frequency limit of auditory response to be about 120 kc. The analogy of human bone‐conduction ultrasonic “hearing” is considered. Some aspects of phonation and echo‐location are commented on.

Outcome-based Theory of Work Motivation

This paper introduces an outcome-based theory of work motivation. This theory focuses on the individuals expected consequences of his or her action. We identify four different types of expected consequences, or motives. These motives lead to four types of motivation: extrinsic, intrinsic, contributive, and relational. We categorize these outcomes using two criteria: the perceived locus of causality, which defines the origin of the motivation, and the perceived locus of consequence, which defines who receives the consequences of the action. Individuals generally act based on a combination of extrinsic, intrinsic, contributive, and relational motivations, each one having a particular weight. We use the term motivational profile to refer to the particular combination of an individuals motivations in a certain context. Individuals may experience conflict when different alternatives convey different expected consequences (or motives). Resolution of conflicts among motives results in motivational learning. Specifically, the resolution of conflicts among motives of the same type results in calculative learning. On the other hand, the resolution of conflicts among motives of different types results in evaluative learning. Evaluative learning implies a change in the individuals motivational profile.

Sustainable careers then and now

This chapter examines sustainable careers within an historical context. We begin with a group of 1970s scholars who believed that studying careers required sensitivity to both psychological experiences and social context over time. Their approach provided a foundation for the interdisciplinary perspective reflected in our Handbook of Career Theory (1989), an explicit recognition that career theory’s home involves many disciplines, at many levels of analysis. Much has changed since then. Sustainable careers require that individuals recognize responsibility for their work within, across and outside organizations. They also require that organizations find innovative solutions for helping individuals reach their full potential while maximizing their institutions’ performance. However, much of the earlier work on careers can still inform the sustainable careers’ dialogue: we have a durable definition of career, everyone has a career, careers are interdependent with people’s lives, and an interdisciplinary approach is more important than ever. We see the sustainable career as an ‘ideal type’. It may never be fully realized, but it should be a goal in future careers research and responsible human resource management. Van der Heijden and de Vos’ (2015) four elements of sustainable careers – time, social space, agency and meaning – represent important components in framing this research agenda.

The Hughes Award. Who is they? Inquiries into how individuals construe social context

When people are asked about their career decisions, they often invoke the influence of they. They may include family or teachers, but it repeatedly includes some amorphous group of generalized others. This article describes my inquiries into the question: Who is they? Initial studies examined individuals’ perceptions of career timetables within organizations. The results suggested that individuals experience their social context as an intricate territory informed by self-perceptions, shared perceptions, and actual distributions. However, these studies assumed they equalled the employee population. Later work showed that in large organizations this assumption is unwarranted. Each individual acquires his or her own non-random version of social context: an organizational reference group. These individual-level reference groups and the neighborhoods in which they cluster are distinctive because they include distant associations defined only by awareness. Both concepts offer opportunities for exploring the social structure that emerges between individuals’ informal social networks and the organization.