Jeffrey R. Cornwall

Cosmopolitan-Local: A Cross-Lagged Correlation Analysis of the Relationship Between Professional Role Orientations and Behaviors in an Academic Organization:

This paper examines the development of professional role orientations. The theoretical foundation of this study is Gouldners (1957, 1958) research of the cosmopolitan-local construct. The focus is on the relationship between the five dimensions of the cosmopolitan-local construct and professional behaviors. Examination of the relationship of professional role orientations and professional behaviors involves the use of cross-lagged correlations of the role-orientation scales with professional behavior variables using data collected in a university at two points in time. The results indicate that the relationships with significant values show professional behaviors influencing professional role orientations over time.

Preface: the entrepreneurial imperative and education

Today’s graduating students enter a fundamentally different world than that of any of their predecessors. Born for the most part after the Internet had achieved widespread diffusion, they seek to find their place and make their mark in a time of sustained turbulence. The fundamental nature of economic activity has been transformed into what can be characterized as an age of flux, ambiguity and discontinuity. In such an age, concepts such as stability, predictability and control become elusive if not completely unattainable. This dynamic environment can be described in terms of four powerful forces: change, complexity, chaos and contradiction (Hitt and Read, 2000). The exponential speed of change creates unprecedented pressures on individuals and organizations. The result is often more than changes in the rules of the game; the game itself is different. Complexity is another critical force and results from change originating from multiple directions at differing velocities, yet simultaneously. The changes occurring in any one area (for example, the technological environment) interact with changes in other areas (for example, the social environment). Chaos, the third critical force, implies disorder, turmoil, surprise and nonlinear patterns as things unfold or emerge. Chaos theory suggests that small changes or shocks to the system can have a major impact. There is sensitive dependence on initial conditions, which means that causality between one business variable and another is difficult to establish or understand. Further, the scale effects of change are largely unpredictable. Finally, today’s environment is filled with many contradictions, and dealing with paradox becomes a critical aspect of prospering in the new competitive landscape. Today we must embrace contradiction by often replacing or with and. For instance, quality can be higher and operating costs can be lower. Firms must innovate and operate with less risk. There needs to be greater autonomy and a sense of control. All of this points to what Grove (1999) called a ‘strategic inflection point’. An inflection point occurs when the old strategic picture dissolves and gives way to the new, allowing those who are more adaptive and