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1 Brunel Business School Doctoral Symposium 28 th & 29 th March 2011 Student First Name: Rajeh Student Surname: Albugamy Copyright subsists in all papers and content posted on this site. Further copying or distribution by any means without prior permission is prohibited, except for the purposes of non-commercial private study or research, as defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or as otherwise authorised by statute. To obtain permission, please contact the author of the relevant paper in the first instance or with details of your request.

2 Making Career Choice: A Study of Saudi Managers Abstract Most of the HRM and career studies have been conducted in the West and mainly in North America, whereas very little theory development has come out of the Middle East, not to mention Saudi Arabia (Weir and Hutchings, 2006). There is a dearth of empirical studies in that region of the factors which influence individuals in making their initial choices of career and the values which consequently enhance their career movement and direction. This exploratory study uses the Schein s concept of Career Anchors (Schein, 1978) to investigate how Saudi managers make their initial career choice and the values which shape their subsequent careers. Keywords Career anchors; career management; Saudi culture; Saudi managers; Islamic values - 2 -

3 Research background & questions There has been an increased interest in studying career as a field by scholars and practitioners from various disciplines, including; sociology, psychology, economics and political science (Wong, 2007 and Moore et al, 2007). Scholars from different fields have developed a number of theoretical and practical approaches to form, understand and conceptualize the field of career management. For example, Parsons, who is a pioneer in the field of vocational psychology, argues in his 1909 book, choosing a vocation, that for the good choice of a career, three factors should be considered; a clear understanding of yourself, a clear understanding of work environments, and some method of matching these two factors (Parsons, 1909). Hughes (1928) is considered also one of the field founders and was writing about the sociology of occupations as early as Other career scholars such as Super (1953) and Holland (1997) have introduced important theories on career orientations. This project focuses on the concept of career anchors (Schein, 1978) which are defined by Schein (1978) as career values that represent the individual motives, talents and experience. According to Schein (1978), career anchors can differ significantly depending on individual idiosyncrasies and traits, personal circumstances and a cultural and social context an individual operates in. This project has two aims. Firstly, to further develop the conceptual framework offered by Schein. Secondly, to attend to a new cultural context of Saudi Arabia. In particular, to investigate both the career anchors and contextual factors that shape career choice of Saudi Arabian managers Saudi Arabia is both an under-explored and an interesting site for this study as it is a boosting dynamic economy. It has the largest known oil reserves in the world estimated at around (25%) - 3 -

4 of the proved reserves and considered the largest oil exporter too (Mellahi, 2006). Also, Saudi Arabia is a member of the (G20) and became a full member of the (WTO) since This economic dimension co-exists alongside a legacy of rooted Islamic values where Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and the land of the two holy cities for Muslims (i.e. Mecca and Madina). This site might offer new insights in social, cultural and economic dimensions that can potentially affect career management. This study will address the following two research questions: 1. What are the career anchors within the Saudi context that are significant in determining the subjects career choices? 2. What are the contextual factors which might impact career choices of Saudi managers. Aim of the study Though there have been a number of studies conducted on application of Schein s conceptual model to different cultural contexts (Custodio, 2000;Tan et al, 2001;Erdogmus, 2004; Ituma and Simpson, 2007 and Wong, 2007 ), there has been very little attention paid to the particular context of Saudi Arabia. Drawing on Schein s conceptual framework, this study intends to develop a more nuanced understanding of how career choices are fashioned and re-fashioned in the context of Saudi Arabia. The study will provide more developed grounds for drawing comparison among various regional contexts

5 Objectives of this study 1. To identify the career anchors of the Saudi managers, which accelerate their progressions through the career ladder and help achieve career goals. 2. To provide an insight about the Saudi managers career experience and to what extent that experience as well as career management can be explained in terms of western career theories. 3. To develop a framework that can be used by researchers to further the study of career choices. Significance of the study The study intends to fill an existing gap in the career literature pertaining to specific Saudi Arabian context by using the Schein s concept of Career Anchors (Schein, 1978 and 1985). There is a pressing need to advance an existing conceptual framework in order to make it more sensitive and applicable to country specific contexts. Theoretical framework The theoretical rationale guiding this study is an agreed understanding that, ideal career outcomes for both the individual and organization can best be achieved through a matching between the individual s values, talents, and needs (career anchors) on one hand, and the requirements and rewards of the organization on the other hand (Parsons, 1909; Schein, 1996 and - 5 -

6 Holland, 1997 ). The congruence between individuals and organizations leads to positive results such as successful high performance and consequently vocational satisfaction (Schein, 1990). Van Harrison (1985) argues in his model of person-environment fit that the misfit between the organization rewards and demands, and the individual needs and skills leads to negative outcomes such as ; dissatisfaction, decreased productivity, turnover, and stress. Furthermore, national culture is essential and critical in affecting the internal career (career anchors) as well as the external career through the shaping of the basic assumptions, values and norms of the individual from early experience in families and schools the main carriers and generators of culture (Derr and Laurent, 1989 and Schein, 1985). The concept of career will have then different meanings in different cultures and hence different career dynamics across countries. Schein s concept of career anchors Excluding the work of Schein (1978) on Career Anchors, the literature is almost silent on the issue of the values and constraints which both drive career choices and guide individuals throughout their career life (Wong, 2007). Schein (1978) defines Career Anchors as patterns of self-perceived talents, motives and values which direct and stabilize the individual s career. The Anchors are generated from the accumulation of life and work experience. They are steady and long-term in nature but their relative priority might shift somewhat. Career Anchors are essential in helping the individual make career decisions: helping to know what the individual really wants?, and what he would not give up if forced to make a choice. He uses the term Career Anchors as a means of - 6 -

7 conceptualizing the values which direct the career choice and constrain career movement. Schein (1990) points out that career anchors gradually evolve as individuals progress through their careers, which involves testing oneself in different work settings and jobs until one has a clear understanding of his or her talents, needs, and values. Schein originally (1978) identified five career anchors starting with technical and functional competence (TF - the desire for enhanced technical competence and credibility); General Managerial Competence (GM - the desire for managerial responsibilities, analyzing and solving problems); Autonomy/Independence (AU - the desire for freedom to pursue career interests that is free of organizational constraints); Security/Stability (SE - the desire for security of employment and benefit, long term attachment to one organization); Entrepreneurial Creativity (EC - the desire to create and build their own project and not managing established ones). Later in an extended study (1985), he added three more anchors which are: Pure Challenge (CH - the desire to overcome major obstacles and solve almost irresolvable problems); Service/Dedication to a Cause (SV - the desire to engage in activities with personal values to help society); then lastly Life Style (LS - the desire to balance career with lifestyle). Multiple career anchors Schein (1978, 1990) argues that over time, a single dominant career anchor emerges, which drives, stabilizes and constrains the individual s career track. When an individual is encountered by a difficult situation at the workplace or forced to make a choice, this dominant career anchor becomes preeminent. This career anchor does not change over time, but becomes more manifested as the individual gains more work experience. Furthermore, Schein points out that if - 7 -

8 an individual is not able to recognize his or her dominant career anchor, it is because the person has not had enough life experience to develop priorities that determine how to make those choices (Schein, 1990: 34). However, Feldman and Bolino (1996) criticized Schein s original study (1978) for suggesting that there is a single career anchor for every individual. According to Feldman and Bolino (1996), and Wong (2007) this mis-finding could have been related to the size and the homogeneity of the sample. The sample is comprised of 44 young managers who came from a prestigious American business school with a plenty of vocational choices, and would also face no difficulty in developing careers harmonious with their values (Wong, 2007). Further studies have demonstrated that individuals can have multiple career anchors, as they are likely to have multiple significant career and life goals. But in his more recent work on career anchors, Schein (1996) points out that due to profound changes in the vocational environment since his 1978 study, the accumulation of the individual s life experience may generate a wider set of needs which in turn can give dominance to more than one career anchor. Individuals may thus be motivated to take on jobs which secure fulfillments for a range of talents, motives and values. The idea of having multiple anchors for an individual has been further developed by a number of researchers. For examples, Yarnall (1998), in a study of UK employees working in a service organization, found out that some of them had more than one dominant career anchor. Ramakrishna and Potosky (2003) in a study of information system professionals in the United States came to a similar result, Wong (2007) in a study of Taiwanese managers found three preeminent career anchors, Two dominant career anchors were identified as well in a study by Ituma and Simpson (2006) of IT workers in Nigeria

9 Why the use of career anchors concept in the current study Despite the criticism mentioned above, Schein s career anchor theory is a helpful base from which to explore individual career choices and the reaction of workers to different career development opportunities (Igbaria et al. 1991). Thus, in addressing the question of what guides and gives direction to career over the long run, the Schein s concept nevertheless has considerable potential in furthering our understanding of careers in a fast changing world where responsibility to manage their careers and identify their own values is shifting away from the organization to the individual (Wong, 2007)

10 References Custodio, L.P. (2000). Career anchors of Filipino academic executives. School of Commerce, College of Business and Accountancy, Virac, Catanduanes, Philippines. Research paper series 00-13, ISSN: Derr, C. B. (1989). The internal and external career: a theoretical and cross-cultural perspective. Handbook of Career Theory. Arthur, M.B., Hall, D. & Lawrence, B. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press : Erdogmus, N. (2004). Career orientations of salaried professionals: The case study of Turkey. Career Development International, 9(2): Feldman, D. C. and Bolino, M. C. (1996). Careers within careers: reconceptualizing the nature of career orientations and their consequences, Human Resource Management Review, 6(2): Holland, J.L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. Hughes, E. C. (1928). personality types and the division of labor. American Journal of Sociology, 33: Igbaria, M., Greenhaus, J.H. and Parasuraman, S. (1991). Career orientations of MIS employees: an empirical analysis, MIS Quarterly, 15(2):

11 Ituma, A. & Simpson, R. (2007). Moving beyond Schein s typology: individual career anchors in the context of Nigeria. Personnel Review, 36(6): Mellahi, K. (2006) Human resource management in Saudi Arabia, in Budhwar, P.S. and Mellahi, K., (eds), Managing human resources in the Middle East, London: Routledge, pp Moore, C.; Gunz, H. & Hall, D. (2007). Tracing the historical roots of career theory in management and organization studies. Handbook of Career Studies. Gunz, H. & Peiperl, M. Sage publications, Inc: Parsons, F. (1909). Choosing a Vocation, New York: Agathon Press. Ramakrishna, H. V. & Potosky, D. (2003). Conceptualization and exploration of composite career anchors: An analysis of information system personnel. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 14(2): Schein, E. H. (1978). Career Dynamics: Matching individual and organizational needs, Addison Wesley. Schein, E. H. (1985). Career Anchors: Discovering your real values. University Associates, San Diego, CA. Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Schein, E. H. (1990). Career Anchors: Discovering your real values, Pfeiffer and company, San Francisco, CA

12 Schein, E. H. (1996). Career Anchors revisited: Implications for career development in the 21 st century. The Academy of Management Executives, 10, Super, D. E. (1953). A theory of vocational development. American Psychologist, 8, Tan, H. & Quek, B. (2001). An exploratory study on the career anchors of educators in Singapore. The journal of psychology, 135(5), pp Van Harrison, R. (1985). The person-environment fit model and the study of job stress. In T.A. Beehr and R.S. Bhagat (eds.), Human stress and cognition in organizations. New York: Wiley. Weir, D. and Hutchings, K. (2006). Understanding networking in China and the Arab World: Lessons for international managers. Journal of European Industrial Training, 30 (40), pp Wong, A. (2007). Making career choice: A study of Chinese managers. Human Relations, 60(8), pp Yarnell, J. (1998). Career anchors: results of an organizational study in the UK. Career Development International Journal, 3(2):