Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

141

DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR MEASURING WOMEN CAREER ADVANCEMENT

1a Khadijah Nordin, 2b Shahibudin Ishak, 3c Ummi Naiemah Saraih

aSchool of Business Innovation and Technopreneurship, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia Email: dnkhadijah@yahoo.com

bCollege of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia, Email: shahibudin@uum.edu.my

cSchool of Business Innovation and Technopreneurship, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia Email: ummi@unimap.edu.my

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for measuring women career advancement. The theoretical foundation used in this study is social cognitive career theory (SCCT). Several keywords were identified such as career advancement, women, managerial career success and social cognitive career theory. Several electronic databases available in the university’s library and online website, such as Mendeley, Emerald, SAGE, EBSCOHost, and Science Direct were used to search for resources. Four factors that have predictive potential on women career advancement are individual-related factors, organizational-related factors, person-environment fit factor, and the managerial competencies-related factors. Limitations and practical implications of the study are also being discussed. Keywords: Career advancement, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), women, political skill, and self-efficacy

INTRODUCTION

Every woman is special. Their uniqueness is not just one enters into a family, but also to educators in addressing the many problems of life. Accordingly, the government is concerned to ensure that they continue to play a role in coloring the country and future generations. After nearly 60 years of Malaysia's independence, a lot of changes for the better can be enjoyed by the people. Represented 47.9 percent of the labor force participation rate among Malaysians, women had to go out to work. They need to move forward to find their own sources of income to ease the financial burden on themselves and their family. Many are involved in the field of clerical support, professional services, and sales, employee base, and other areas that are less risky. This is consistent with the in nature of being more gentle, diligent, and patient as compared to men.

It has become a norm in any organization, oblique views or prejudices against women workers must apply no matter whether the external conditions dominated women's work and especially when it is dominated by men (Omair, 2010). Tlaiss and Kauser (2010) show that men find it hard to accept women as equal managers. This has led to other problems such as lack of training, lack of performance evaluations, lower pay and lack of promotion for women. Women who persisted in engineering careers articulated high levels of self efficacy, described themselves in terms of their identity as an engineer, and were motivated by the challenges and novelty of the profession (Buse et al., 2013). Women engineers’ ability to adapt enabled them to persist and thrive despite working in a male-dominated culture characterized by difficulties associated with the despite working in a male-dominated culture characterized by difficulties associated with the workplace, including discrimination. Women who opted out of engineering were less likely to recognize options in navigating the workplace and some felt as if they were pushed into engineering. Persistent engineers were less likely to be married and had fewer children.

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

142

Gender compositions of the board have become the latest research trends and are the basis for a number of countries including Malaysia. In June 2011, the Malaysian Cabinet has approved a policy that at least 30 per cent of women should be in decision-making positions in the corporate sector as a step towards gender equality in the workplace. This policy is a continuation of the same policy for the public sector in 2004. However, no formal sanctions if these two sectors did not comply with either the base year 2004 or 2011. At the ministry level, to ensure a competent group of women can be posited as a member of the board of directors of public listed companies (PLCs) had implemented the Program Director of the Ministry of Women and Women Directors' Programme since 2012. The program aims to improve the knowledge and skills to perform the critical role of member of the board of directors through structured training methods, taking into account technical and soft skills. Until December 31, 2014, a total of 974 women have been trained. As for placement on the board, until December 31, 2014, the number of placement of women board members in listed companies or Public Listed Companies (PLCs) in Bursa Malaysia were 669 women, or 10.2 percent of the total 6,559 placement. Of these, the number of placement of women as Chairman (Chairman) is 15 placements and placement as Chief Executive Director / CEO (Chief Executive Director / Chief Executive Officer) is 12 placements. These results indicate that Malaysian Government support not only the role and success women, but also encourage them to continue moving forward in their careers.

Several surveys have been conducted to examine the representation of women on boards of Malaysian companies. A study by Abdullah et al. (2012) on all public listed companies in 2008 shows that women occupied 7.7 percent of the board seats. According to a survey by Bank Negara, the number of top women appointments in 200 companies listed in Bursa Malaysia as of November 2010 was only 7.6 percent, and only 45 women or 6 percent were appointed to become board members of financial institutions as of April 2011. Nurwati (2012) found that female representation as board of directors in 228 Malaysian companies prior to the IPO is only about 8 percent.

The paper is organized by firstly reviewing the definitions of career advancement. Secondly, it describes social cognitive career theory as the theoretical background that relates to the four key predictors. The proposed key predictors are the basis for hypotheses on predictors of women career advancement. Thirdly, it reviews research related to the four key predictors and women career advancement. Lastly, it concludes by formulating a theoretical framework for evaluating women career advancement as well as offering HRD implications.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Definition of Career Advancement A career is a fascinating and multifaceted phenomenon which is able to give an impact in various

aspects of a person’s life. Careers influence and are subject to economic, societal, cultural, and infrastructural factors (Gunz et al., 2011). In many cases, a person’s career can also create a main part of their individuality, i.e., “what you do” determines “who you are” (Briscoe et al., 2011). Career can be preserved as a basis of motivation for person not only to function accordingly but also to make their presence felt by the organization (O'Neil et al., 2011).

As a consequence of shifting career patterns, the importance of the subjective career has been brought to the frontage (Ituma et al., 2011). The subjective career is intrinsic, intangible, and measured in terms of psychological and dispositional factors such as job and career satisfaction, sense of value, learning, self-awareness, etc., while objective careers are measured by tangible, extrinsic visible attributes such as income, promotions, and job level/position (Tremblay et al., 2014). A focus on subjective careers naturally suggests that individuals’ attitudes, personalities, and traits are important if one is to understand how individuals view and make career decisions. A number of studies (Heimler et al., 2011; Wilson and Parry, 2013; Lyons et al., 2015) have directly and indirectly (Converse et al., 2012; Rodrigues et al., 2013) linked individual interpretations of control traits such as self-efficacy, self-esteem and locus of control (LOC) to career advancement.

Recent literature review focus on elaborating the contemporary career patterns, developing a wider perspective on career patterns as well as exploring the outcomes of career management. From an early academic emphasis on career success and employability, today we read more about psychological success, career preparedness, and sustainability as well. Furthermore, an increasing number of terms

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

143

have appeared in the literature, referring to individuals actions to do with managing their careers, for example, career construction, advancement, exploration or resilience. For the research, we will focus on career advancement.

For this study, we decided to focus on career advancement. Career advancement is somewhat synonymous with career development with only a slight difference in focus (O'Neil et al., 2011; Jogulu and Wood, 2011). The former refers to the status or what an employee achieves as a result of the activities to improve one’s career, whereas the latter refers to the process undertaken by the organization and the employee to improve the employee’s performance and job position over a specified period (O'Neil et al., 2011). Among the reasons for the lack of advancement opportunities in many companies is a fact about the purpose of career advancement are vary between perceptions of an employee with another employee (Crawshaw and Brodbeck, 2010; Wilson and Parry, 2013). This makes it difficult to meet the needs of everyone. For some individuals, career advancement means achieving a top position in a particular company; for others, it can mean getting experience in various professional fields in order to create unique and versatile role for themselves (LaPierre and Zimmerman, 2012). In this research, we will see the meaning of career advancement in the term of objective career measurement. The measurement for women career advancement is by referring only on the salary increment

A common underlying assumption behind these age/stage models of career advancement is that there are a series of predictable tasks that happen at more or less predictable times during the course of a career. Given the meaningful consequences associated with career advancement, it is no wonder that several studies have examined the factors that might be predictive of career advancement. However, even with a large body of research on the antecedents of career advancement, there remains much room for expansion. Given that career advancement is built up internally and involves both internal and external aspects of the career, we attempt to explain this phenomenon in terms of the psychological processes using social cognitive career theory. This will be discussed in the next section. Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT)

We applied social cognitive career theory (SCCT) (Lent et al., 1994, 1996) to explain the complex phenomenon of women career advancement. Current efforts to advance women career development largely emphasize organizational elements (e.g. training programs, organizational support) and person factors (e.g. gender, personal attributes). These elements are likely to affect learning experiences and ultimately determine career decisions and advancement. However, these approaches disregard the interactions between personal factors and managerial environments that create the learning experiences which ultimately influence career interest, choice and persistence. Grounded in Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory, SCCT recognizes that learning occurs through interactions with others and the environment. It also acknowledges an individual’s capacity for self-regulation, motivation, self-directed learning and goal setting in affecting behavioral change.

Moreover, SCCT incorporates the influences of personal, environmental, learning experiences and reciprocal interactions of both person factors and environmental elements in shaping career behaviors. SCCT also addresses the importance of context in which the individual engaged with. In this case, the context pertinent to the women environment. Given the growing empirical evidence supporting SCCT in explaining career development (Wong and Roziah, 2015; Joo and Ready, 2012; Roziah et al., 2009), SCCT elements should be considered when identifying predictors of career advancement. According to Roziah et al. (2009), the model is a base for unifying existing career theories and for conceptualizing developmental and remedial career interventions. Hence, it provides a useful model for understanding the phenomenon of women career advancement. The SCCT differs from the majority of existing career theories in its dynamic nature. Through its focus upon the role of the self-system and the individual’s beliefs the inherent influence of the social and economic contexts are addressed.

In this paper, we will be taking a similar approach to that adopted in previous research in classifying predictors. For the following discussion it is rename the four key factors “individual-related factors”, “organizational-related factor”, “person environment fit” and “managerial competencies-related factor”. More specifically, the individual-related factors include self-efficancy, self-esteem, and locus of control and the organizational factor refer to perceived organizational support and mentoring, person-environment factors while managerial competencies-related factor is political skill as the moderator for

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

144

these four factors. Past studies have showed that all these variables are significantly correlated with women career advancement:

Self-efficacy (Samina et al., 2013; Buse et al., 2013; Rajabi et al., 2012).

Self-esteem (Karatepe and Demir, 2014; Akgunduz, 2015).

Locus of control (Nurdiana and Arianto, 2014; Tremblay et al., 2014; Nasution and Östermark, 2012).

Perceived organizational support (Neves and Eisenberge, 2014; Karatepe, 2012).

Mentoring (Bozionelos et al., 2011; Petersen et al., 2012; Grima et al., 2014; Arora and Rangnekar, 2014).

Political skills (Watkins and Smith, 2011; Gentry et al., 2012).

Person-environment fit (Nor Wahiza, 2011; Kristof-Brown and Guay, 2011; Peltokorpi and Froese, 2014; Schiefer et al., 2012).

Career strategy (Liu et al., 2012; Wong and Roziah, 2015; Davis, 2015). In summary, the key factors to women career advancement can be further be categorized as:

Individual-related factors;

Organizational-related factor;

Person-environment fit; and

Managerial competencies-related factor. The following section elaborates the effects of the four key factors on women career advancement. Predictors of Women Career Advancement

In the previous section, it was concluded that the predictors of women career advancement can be categorized into four key factors (i.e. individual-related factor, organizational-related factor, person environment fit and managerial competencies-related factor). In this section, the effects of each of these factors on women career advancement and provide empirical evidence relating to the factors are being discussed. Finally, hypotheses on each of the four key factors are summarized. Individual-related factors

SCCT theorizes that the joint influences of social cognitive variables (i.e. self-efficacy, outcome expectations and personal goals) and person inputs such as work values and individual qualities determine career interest, choice and performance. Person inputs were associated to the individual-related factors, and in this paper, it is being referred as women self-efficacy, self-esteem, and locus of control. One social cognitive variable is being included, i.e. self-efficacy, as it initiates the functions of other social cognitive variables, and plays a vital role in an individual’s career development (Samina et al., 2013). Self-efficacy was expressed in relation to finding new assignments, dealing with difficult work situations, or tackling tough technical problems. Often it was associated with the employment of skills developed over the course of a career to exercises out of an uncomfortable or threatening situation (Buse et al., 2013). Higher levels of self-efficacy are related to greater persistence in college majors (Restubog et al., 2010) and lower academic program turnover (Restubog et al., 2010). According to Buse et al. (2013), women who continued in engineering careers expressed high levels of self-efficacy, described themselves in terms of their identity as an engineer, and were driven by the challenges and novelty of the profession. While study done by Rajabi et al (2012) found that the students having a higher level of self-efficacy belief and career outcome expectation show more willingness in determining their goals and career intention.

Another individual-related factor is self-esteem. Self-esteem can impact one’s performance to a large extent. When an individual accepts himself or herself, that individual can live in harmony with the strong and weak features of his or her personality (Karatepe and Demir, 2014). Kammeyer-Mueller et al. (2007) indicated that there is a reciprocal relationship between self-esteem and extrinsic career success. Employees’ self-esteem is negatively influenced by their failure to meet goals. Matching individual standards, wishes and performance capacity positively influences employees’ self-esteem. This means that if the employees’ work standard matches their attitudes, they are more likely to develop self-esteem. Study conducted by Akgunduz (2015) found that self-esteem, one dimension of the core-self-evaluation,

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

145

had positive effects on the work performance of hotel employees. Employees who regard themselves as worthy and think that they deserve to be respected have enhanced job performances.

And the last individual-related factor that will be look into is locus of control (LOC). Its refers to the extent to which individuals attribute the events in their lives to actions or forces beyond their control. When individuals believe that the events in their lives are the result of circumstances beyond their control (e.g. fate, chance, luck, or destiny) and believe that they have little control over what happens to them then they are classified as having an external LOC. Consequently, these individuals tend not to consider themselves personally responsible for the consequences of unethical behavior. They will blame it on external factors. In contrast, individuals with an internal LOC believe that what happens in their lives are the result of their decisions and actions; hence, they will tend to consider themselves personally liable for the actions taken. LOC has been widely applied in the various field (e.g. Nurdiana and Arianto, 2014; Tremblay et al., 2014; Nasution and Östermark, 2012).

Nelson and Quick (2010) claimed that individuals with internal locus of control had higher job satisfaction and performance, to be more likely to assume managerial positions, and to prefer participative management styles. As a result, they were substantially needed by corporate and educational management because they had a tendency to perceive that all events they befallen were substantially from themselves. They were the factors that drove their destiny and achievements. They had high positive expectation of their lives. They were optimistic, highly motivated, determined, enthusiastic, and loved challenging circumstances. All of these studies demonstrate that LOC is a dynamic determinant of individual behavior in women career advancement. Thus, based on these arguments, we predict:

P1. Individual-related factors (self-efficacy, self-esteem and locus of control) have significant positive relationships with women career advancement.

Organizational-related factors

Previously, the individual-related factors emphasize individual attributes, then, the organizational-related factors will highlight the role of the organizational level variables. In SCCT, the impact of contextual factors during the process of implementing one’s career path is very significant. SCCT theorizes that certain features of the opportunity structure influence people’s ability to translate their interests into career goals and their goals into actions (Lent and Brown, 1996). In the women workplace, the strategic position of top management, in terms of its relationship to segments of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of organization, will affect the organizational environment, which in turn affects women behavior. Research conducted by Mishra (2014) argues that organizations need to focus on their important resource such as employees.

Neves and Eisenberger (2014) provides evidence that perceived organizational support among supervisors and employees is related to the development of employees’ risk taking through trust that the organization will respond benevolently to failure. Employees who believe that the organization values their contributions and care about their well-being are also more willing to take risks on behalf of the organization in the belief that the organization will recognize their own generous intent and dedication to the organization. This important consideration when they have any intent in advancing their career. Then, Karatepe (2012) perceived organizational support influenced service recovery performance and job performance only via career satisfaction.

Other than organizational factor item, we also introduce the second item for the dimension which is mentoring support system. There has been a growing interest in career-related mentoring in managerial and supervisory domains (Arora and Rangnekar, 2014). This takes into account the traditional mentoring perspective, which represents an intense interpersonal exchange between the supervisor (a senior experienced colleague) and the subordinate (a junior experienced colleague) (Russell and Adams, 1997). However, this traditional understanding of mentoring has changed a lot because of the increasing boundarylessness in careers across organizations (Crocitto et al., 2005; Ghosh, 2014). Yet, this study adopted the traditional conceptualization of mentoring because of two reasons. First, the traditional mentorship model relies on one close relationship based on a shared sense of “belongingness and interconnectedness” than does the multiple mentorship models, which asserts that multiple and less close relationships are more advantageous (Allen and Eby, 2011). Second, the traditional mentorship model is

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

146

built on the essence of a long-term relationship, whereas the multiple mentorship model includes short-term and less intense relationships. Furthermore, we endorse that a mentoring relationship functions more smoothly when a senior supervisor guides the junior subordinate in career advancement (Ghosh, 2014; Haggard et al., 2011).

Bozionelos et al. (2011) study found that mentoring was positively associated with objective and subjective career success and with mentoring received. Furthermore, mentoring provided mediated the relationship between mentoring received and both aspects of career success. However, although career-related mentoring provided was positively associated with mentors’ career success and affective organizational commitment, socio-emotional mentoring provided was unrelated to mentors’ career success and was negatively related to their affective commitment. (Bozionelos et al., 2011) this agreed by Petersen et al. (2012); Grima et al. (2014); and Arora and Rangnekar (2014). Due to their very nature, the impact of organizational variable on all organizational members is significant and persistent. Thus, we propose:

P2. Organizational-related factor (perceived organizational support and mentoring) have significant positive relationships with women career advancement.

Person-environment fit factor

The dynamic interaction of the person, their behavior and the environment in which the behavior is performed consider multiple avenues to behavioral change, including skill, ability and attitude. Based on the significance of the SCCT framework, it is believed that person-environment interaction plays a significant role in determining women career advancement. As postulated in these frameworks, the three factors of environment, people and behavior constantly influence each other. Environment refers to the factors that can affect a person’s behavior, such as social and physical environments. Social environment includes family members, friends and colleagues. Physical environment consists of the landscape of the work setting and the facilities provided in performing a task efficiently. Both environments provide opportunities and social support which may enhance an individual’s behavioral changes and learning behavior.

The changes can either be an increase in one’s skill and ability or changes in terms of attitude and personality. As the process occurs reciprocally and continuously, one’s skill, ability and attitude are reviewed and reinforced so that they will be fully developed. Additionally, Bandura (1997) advocated that observational learning occurs when a person watches the actions of another person and the reinforcements that the person receives. Given the significance of person-environment interaction in individual learning behavior and behavioral changes towards one’s performance achievement, we concluded person-environment fit to be a factor that plays an important role in women career advancement. According to Nor Wahiza (2011), the person-environment perspective conjectures those harmonious interactions between individuals and the environment (workplace) would lead to better work and career outcomes.

Hence, the concept of fit has often been used for such purposes because it not only recognises the differences between individuals but also between staffing groups, and how one group could be better for a particular strategic concern than another. Although the fit can be evaluated either subjectively or objectively (Kristof-Brown and Guay, 2011), this study considers only subjective or perceived fit, terms that have often been used interchangeably (e.g.Kristof-Brown and Guay, 2011). Another key question is what constitutes the environment in the context of fit. Although a general definition has been offered in the form of, “a context in which individuals carry out task activities” (Tarique et al., 2006), more specific contexts can be determined. Traditionally an environment has been used with reference to a job (P-J) (Kristof-Brown and Guay, 2011) with a focus on a person’s knowledge, skills and abilities and the job requirements that have usually formed a basis from western staffing decisions. It has similarly been referred as an organisation (P-O) (Kristof-Brown and Guay, 2011) with a focus on organisation’s values, goals and culture or its characteristics such as structures, tasks or technology.

More recently, the environment has referred to the fit with a group (P-G) (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005; Boon and Den Hartog, 2011) referring to co-workers or direct superiors and recognising differences between their personal values, personality or behaviour styles (Van Vianen et al., 2011), but also as a fit

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

147

with the whole cultural context (P-C) in which a particular interaction takes place (Peltokorpi and Froese, 2014) consisting of elements such as national culture, values, norms or prototypical personality traits (Ward et al., 2004). Although all the forms of fit can be assessed independently, they do overlap with each other, and their strengthening or weakening effects on fit can also vary (Van Vianen et al., 2011). As perceptions of fit (low, partial or high) and the direction of its development tend to impact employee commitment and job satisfaction (Peltokorpi and Froese, 2014; Schiefer et al., 2012) that in turn affect their overall performance and effectiveness, and may thus either reduce or increase the intention of leaving an employer. Such perceptions also provide a meaningful way of assessing women career advancement. Based on the above discussion, we hypothesize:

P3. Person-environment fit has significant positive relationships with women career advancement.

Managerial competencies-related factors

As noted in SCCT, the development of one’s ability is substantially affected by learning experiences. Through learning experiences, managers learn that they should put effort into career enhancing approaches in order to achieve positive career outcomes. Previous studies did not include career strategy as a factor in one of these career advancement approaches. Furthermore, it does not appear to be more closely allied to one perspective than to the other. Nonetheless, we include career strategy because it has been examined in previous research on career advancement (e.g. Akrivos et al., 2007; power, 2010; Laud and Johnson, 2012; Liu, et al., 2012; Wong and Roziah, 2015; and Davis, 2015).

Watkins and Smith (2014) found that when working in male-dominated organizations, women with high levels of political skill fared better than women with low levels of political skill in terms of obtaining positions with authority which means that they are most welcome for advancing their career. The study results done by Laird et al. (2013) illustrated positive political skill-personal reputation and job performance-personal reputation relationships. Job performance was positively associated with personal reputation for politically skilled employees, but not for individuals low in political skill. Indeed, past research has demonstrated the positive relationships between political skill and important career outcomes (e.g. Gentry et al., 2012; Todd et al., 2009). Thus, this study extend prior work on political skill by examining the notion that political skill may be an asset to women as they attempt to reach positions with authority in organizations in powerful positions.

Generally, an individual pursues a particular career strategy based on the expectation that it will provide them with the greatest opportunity of attaining personal and professional career success (Greenhaus et al., 2010). Career strategies includes attaining competence in the current job, putting in extended work hours, developing new skills, developing new opportunities in current work, attaining a mentor, building one’s image and reputation and engaging in organizational politics. Substantial studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between career strategies and career development over the past few decades (Gould and Penley, 1984; Noe, 1996; King, 2004; Lee, 2002; Greenhaus et al., 2010). Different types of career strategies are utilized over time based on an individual’s career planning, goal setting and self-managed career activities (Kraimer et al., 2011).

In a study conducted by Wong and Roziah (2015), career strategies are considered a proximal contextual factor moderating individual’s career choices and actions. Specifically, career strategies moderate the relationships between the individual-related factors (self-efficacy, outcome expectation, goal orientation and internal LOC) and protean career among professional employees. Kraimer et al. (2011) study explained that perceived career opportunities exploration (i.e. career strategies) moderated the relationship between employees’ perceptual-related variables and career-related performance among 512 employees from different departments of a manufacturing company. Later, Creed and Hudges (2013) found that there was moderating effects of career strategies on the relationship between self-compromise (i.e. individual-related factors) and career development-related issues (i.e. career distress). Their study suggested that career strategies buffer the negative effect of compromise on well-being in self-managed career development process. Similarly, we believe that the same degree of the individual-related factors, organizational-related factors variables and person-environment fit will have different effects on women

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

148

P1

P2

P4 P3

career advancement, depending on whether the level of usage of career strategies is high or low (Creed and Hudges, 2013). Therefore, we predict:

P4a. Managerial competencies-related factor (political skills) moderates the relationship between individual-related factors and career advancement.

P4b. Managerial competencies-related factor (political skills) moderates the relationship between

organizational factors and career advancement. P4c. Managerial competencies-related factor (political skills) moderates the relationship between

person-environment fit and career advancement.

The next section explains the conceptual framework of the four key factors on women career advancement.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This study is aim to develop a conceptual framework for measuring women career advancement.

The conceptual framework supporting its quest is social cognitive career theory. The study concludes that the four key factors (i.e. individual-related factors, organizational-related factor, person-environment fit and managerial competencies-related factor) have predictive potential on women career advancement (see Figure 1). By referring to the figure, it is clearly identified that career advancement as the Independent variable (IV), individual-related factors, organizational-related factors, and person-environment fit as the dependent variable (DV) while managerial competencies-related factor as the moderation variable (MV). For individual and organizational-related factors, there are some items under the dimensions. Self-efficacy, self-esteem, and locus of control are the items which discussed individual-related factor. While perceived organizational support and mentoring represent organizational-related factors. The central belief of all key factors is individual and organizational learning, with emphasis on individual development and performance. The domains of learning and performance are in line with the core threads of HRD, where most see them as partners in a formula for women career advancement.

Figure 1. Proposed conceptual framework for measuring women career advancement

Individual-related factors Self-efficacy Self-esteem Locus of Control

Career advancement

Managerial competencies-related factor Political skill

Organizational-related factors Perceived organizational

support Mentoring

Person-environment fit

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

149

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

The present conceptual framework suggests specific personalities or characteristics that can create conditions leading to women career advancement. Having strong self-efficacy, mature self-esteem, as well as locus of control is specific characteristics that women can emphasize in order to enhance the likelihood of an objectively rewarding and subjectively advancing career. Hence, specific programs for personnel training and development such as motivational talks and confidence stimulation programs should be provided by organizations. However, having the “right” personality alone may not be sufficient for women to experience both measures of career advancement. Organizations should play their role through organizational development in providing support and induction programs to newcomers and current women employee, so that women are guided in their future career-decisions and career path.

It was further concluded that organizations should take into account the importance of the fit between the person and environment during women organizational entry due to its high association with work-related attitudes and behaviors such as performance and turnover. With this, we have also introduced person-environment fit as a distinct approach to advancement in comparison to well-used approaches (i.e. individual, organizational and behavioral). Accordingly, management needs to develop selection techniques that assess various types of fit and to examine to what extent these fits affect organizational and individual outcomes.

Subsequently, career development programs which empower women to engage in proactive behaviors should be designed. By taking part in career-enhancing strategies, women competencies and skills can be upgraded and enhanced. Specifically, women should engage in career planning by setting career goals and formulating strategies for the achievement of those goals; women should update their political skills in order to keep abreast with current management issues and tools.

REFERENCES Abdullah, H., Ahmad, Z., & Roslan, S. (2012). The influence of ownership structure on the firms dividend

ratio based Lintner model. International Review of Business Research Papers, 8, 71-88.

Akgunduz, Y. (2015). The influence of self-esteem and role stress on job performance in hotel Businesses. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(6),1082-1099.

Akrivos, C., Ladkin, A. & Reklitis, P. (2007). Hotel managers' career strategies for success. International

Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19(2), 107-119. Allen, T.D., & Eby, L.T. (2011). The blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach.

Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Malden, MA. Arokiasamy, A, Maimunah, I., Aminah, A., and Jamilah, O. (2011). Predictors of academics' career

advancement at Malaysian private universities. Journal of European Industrial Training, 35(6), 589-605.

Arora, R., & Rangnekar, S. (2014). The joint effects of personality and supervisory career mentoring in

predicting occupational commitment. Career Development International, 20(1), 63-80. Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Prentice-Hall,

Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control, Freeman. New York, NY.

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

150

Boon, C., & Den Hartog, D.N. (2011). Human resource management, person-environment fit, and trust, in Searle, R.H. and Skinner, D. (Eds), Trust and Human Resource Management, Edward Elgar Publishing House, Cheltenham, 109-121.

Bozionelos, N., Bozionelos, G., Kostopoulos, K., & Polychroniou, P. (2011). How providing mentoring

relates to career success and organizational commitment. Career Development International, 16(5), 446-468.

Bozionelos, N., Bozionelos, G., Polychroniou, P., & Kostopoulos, K. (2014). Mentoring receipt and

personality: evidence for non-linear relationships. Journal of Business Research, 67(2), 171-181. Briscoe, J., Hall, D.T., & Mayrhofer, W. (2011). Careers around the world: Individual and Contextual

Perspectives. Routledge, New York, NY. Buse, K., Bilimoria, D., & Perelli, S. (2013). Why they stay: women persisting in US engineering careers.

Career Development International, 18(2), 139-154. Converse, P.D., Pathak, J., DePaul-Haddock, A.M., Gotlib, T., & Merbedone, M. (2012). Controlling your

environment and yourself: implications for career success. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(1), 148-159

Crawshaw, J., & Brodbeck, F. (2011). Justice and trust as antecedents of careerist orientation. Personnel

Review, 40(1), 106-125. Creed, P.A. & Hughes, T. (2013). Career development strategies as moderators between career

compromise and career outcomes in emerging adults. Journal of Career Development, 40(2), 146-163.

Crocitto, M.M., Sullivan, S.E., & Carraher, S.M. (2005). Global mentoring as a means of career

development and knowledge creation: a learning-based framework and agenda for future research. Career Development International, 10(6/70), 522-535.

Davis, P. J. (2015). Implementing an employee career-development strategy. Human Resource

Management International Digest, 23(4), 28-32. Gentry, W.A., Gilmore, D.C., Shuffler, M.L., & Leslie, J. (2012). Political skill as an indicator of

promotability among multiple rater sources. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33, 89-104. Ghosh, R. (2014). Antecedents of mentoring support: a meta-analysis of individual, relational, and

structural or organizational factors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 367-384. Gould, S., & Penley, L.E. (1984). Career strategies and salary progression: a study of their relationships

in a municipal bureaucracy. Organisational Behaviour and Human Performance, 34(2), 244-265. Greenhaus, J.H., Callanan, G.A., & Godshalk, M. (2010). Career Management (4th ed.). Sage

Publication, Newbury Park. Grima, F., Paillé, P., Mejia J. H., & Prud'homme, L. (2014). Exploring the benefits of mentoring activities

for the mentor. Career Development International, 19(4), 469-490. Gunz, H., Mayrhofer, W., & Tolbert, P. (2011). Career as a social and political phenomenon in the

globalized economy. Organization Studies, 32(12), 1613-1620.

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

151

Haggard, D.L., Dougherty, T.W., Turban, D.B., & Wilbanks, J.E. (2011). Who is a mentor? A review of evolving definitions and implications for research. Journal of Management, 37(1), 280-304.

Heimler, R., Rosenberg, S., & Morote, E. S. (2012). Predicting career advancement with structural

equation modelling. Education + Training, 54(2/3), 85-94. Ituma, A., Simpson, R., Ovadje, F., Cornelius, N., & Mordi, C. (2011). Four ‘domains’ of career success:

how managers in Nigeria evaluate career outcomes. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(17), 3638-3660.

Joo, B. K., & Ready, K. J. (2012). Career satisfaction. Career Development International, 17(3), 276-295. Kammeyer-Mueller, J.D., Judge, T.A., & Piccolo, R.F. (2007). Self-esteem and extrinsic career success:

test of a dynamic model. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 1-21. Karatepe, O. M. (2012). Perceived organizational support, career satisfaction, and performance Outcomes. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 24(5), 735-752. Karatepe, O.M., & Demir, E. (2014). Linking core self-evaluations and work engagement to work-family

facilitation: a study in the hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 26(2), 307-323.

King, Z. (2004). New or traditional careers? A study of UK graduates’ preferences. Human Resource

Management Journal, 13(1), 5-26. Kraimer, M.L., Seibert, S.E., Wayne, S.J., & Liden, R.C. (2011). Antecedents and outcomes of

organizational support for development: the critical role of career strategies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(3), 485-500.

Kristof-Brown, A.L., Zimmerman, R.D. and Johnson, E.C. (2005), “Consequences of individuals’ fit at

work: a meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology, 58(2), 281-342.

Kristof-Brown, A., & Guay, R.P. (2011). Person-environment fit, in Zedeck, S. (Ed.) APA Handbook of

Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 3, 3-50. Laird, M. D., Zboja, J. J., Martinez, A. D., & Ferris, G. R. (2013). Performance and political skill in

personal reputation assessments. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 28(6), 661-676. LaPierre, T. A., & Zimmerman, M. K. (2012). Career advancement and gender equity in healthcare

management. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 27(2), 100-118. Laud, R. L., & Johnson, M. (2012). Upward mobility. Career Development International, 17 (3), 231-254. Lee, C.B. (2002). Career goals and career management strategy among information technology

Professionals. Career Development International, 7(1), 6-13. Lent, R.W., Brown, S.D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and

academic interest, choice and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79-122. Lent, R.W., & Brown, S.D. (1996). Social cognitive approach to career development: an overview. Career

Development Quarterly, 44(4), 310-2.

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

152

Liu, Y, Liu, J., & Wu, L. (2012). Strategic emotional display: an examination of its interpersonal and career outcomes. Career Development International, 17(6), 518-536.

Mishra, S. K. (2014). Linking perceived organizational support to emotional labor. Personnel Review,

43(6), 845-860. Nasution, D., & Östermark, R. (2012). The impact of social pressures, locus of control, and professional

commitment on auditors’ judgment. Asian Review of Accounting, 20(2), 163-178. Nelson, D.L. & Quick, J.C. (2010). Organizational behaviour science, the real world, and you. Sage

publication, London. Neves, P., & Eisenberger, R. (2014). Perceived organizational support and risk taking. Journal of

Managerial Psychology, 29(2), 187-205. Noe, R.A. (1996). Is career management related to employee development and performance? Journal of

Organizational Behavior, 17(2), 119-133. Nor Wahiza, A. W. (2011). Towards developing a theoretical framework on career success of people with

disabilities. Asian Social Science, 7(3), 62-70. Nurdiana, G., & Arianto A. (2014). Locus of Control Job Satisfaction Job Stress among Female

Headteachers at Primary Schools in Makassar, Indonesia. Advancing Women in Leadership, 34, 19-27.

Nurwati A. A. Z. (2012). The pre- and post-IPOs gender composition of board of directors in Malaysia.

Gender in Management: An International Journal, 27(7), 449-462. Omair, K. (2010). Typology of career development for Arab women managers in the United Arab

Emirates. Career Development International, 15(2), 121-143. O'Neil, D. O., Hopkins, M. M., & Sullivan, S. E. (2011). Do women's networks help advance women's

careers?. Career Development International, 16(7), 733-754. Peltokorpi, V., & Froese, F. (2014). Expatriate personality and cultural fit: the moderating role of host

country context on job satisfaction. International Business Review, 23(1), 293-302. Petersen, R., Eggert, A., Grümmer, R., Schara, U. & Sauerwein, W. (2012). The mentoring of women for

medical career development. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 1(2), 155-168.

Power, S. J. (2010). Career management tactical innovations and successful interorganizational

Transitions. Career Development International, 15(7). 664-686. Rajabi, S., Papzan, A., & Zahedi, G. (2012). Application of social cognitive career theory to investigate the

effective factors of the career decision-making intention in Iranian agriculture students by using ANN. Sage Open. 1-13.

Restubog, S.L., Florentino, A.R., & Garcia, J.M. (2010). The mediating roles of career self-efficacy and

career decidedness in the relationship between contextual support and persistence. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77, 186-195.

Rodrigues, R., Guest, D., & Budjanovcanin, A. (2013). From anchors to orientations: towards a

contemporary theory of career preferences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(2), 142-152.

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6

Conference on Business Management Research II (CBMR II 2015)

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia,

22 December 2015

153

Roziah, M. R., Maimunah, I., Jegak, U., & Sidek, M. N. (2009). Towards developing a theoretical

framework for measuring public sector managers' career success. Journal of European Industrial Training, 33(3), 232-254.

Russell, J.E., & Adams, D.M. (1997). The changing nature of mentoring in organizations: an introduction

to the special issue on mentoring in organizations. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 1-14. Samina, M. S., Dyke, L. S., & Maria R. (2013). Gender and careers: a study of persistence in engineering

education in Bangladesh. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 28(4), 188-209. Schiefer, D., Mollering, A., & Daniel, E. (2012). Cultural value fit of immigrant and minority adolescents:

the role of acculturation orientations. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36(4), 486-497.

Sean T. Lyons, S. T., Schweitzer, L., & Ng, E.S.W. (2015). Resilience in the modern career. Career

Development International, 20(4), 363-383. Tarique, I., Schuler, R., & Gong, Y. (2006). A model of multinational enterprise subsidiary staffing

Composition, International Journal of Human ResourceManagement, 7(2), 207-224. Tlaiss, H., & Kauser, S. (2010). Perceived organizational barriers to women's career advancement in

Lebanon. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 25(6), 462-496. Todd, S.Y., Harris, K.J., Harris, R.B. & Wheeler, A.R. (2009). Career success implications of political skill.

The Journal of Social Psychology, 149, 179-204. Tremblay, M., Dahan, J., & Gianecchini, M. (2014). The mediating influence of career success in

relationship between career mobility criteria, career anchors and satisfaction with organization. Personnel Review, 43(6), 818-844.

Van Vianen, A.E.M., Shen, C.-T., & Chuang, A. (2011). Person-organization and person supervisor fits:

employee commitments in a Chinese context. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(6), 906-926. Ward, C., Leong, C.-H., & Low, M. (2004). Personality and sojourner adjustment: an exploration of the big

five and the cultural fit proposition. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35(2), 137-151. Watkins, M. B., & Smith, A. N. (2014). Importance of women's political skill in male-dominated

Organizations. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 29(2), 206-222. Wilson, D. B., & Parry, E. (2013). Career progression in older managers. Employee Relations, 35(3), 309-

321. Wong, S. C., & Roziah, M. R. (2015). Predictors of protean career and the moderating role of career

strategies among professionals in Malaysian Electrical and Electronics (E & E) Industry. European Journal of Training and Development, 39(5), 409-428.

ISBN 978-967-13903-0-6