Explaining Managers’ Participation In Career-Focused Learning And Development
Refereed Paper
Carbery, Ronan; Garavan, Thomas N.
Introduction
There exists a lacuna in our understanding of contemporary managerial careers and, more specifically, participation by managers in learning and development for the purposes of career development. The goal of widening participation in learning of low skilled and excluded groups has potentially overshadowed current managerial research into patterns of learning and development (McCracken and Winterton, 2003). Models of participation in learning and development activities similarly treat employees as homogeneous groups with little or no distinction between employee groups (cf. Hurtz and Williams, 2009). The nature of managerial work in gathering and processing large and often intricate pieces of information so that effective decisions can be made in a timely manner is markedly distinctive to warrant specific research into managerial participation in learning and development. Managerial work is complex and ambiguous (Ashford and Tsui, 1991), and this ambiguity is amplified as managers’ progress through an organisational hierarchy (Jaques, 1961). Many factors contribute to this complexity and ambiguity, including the variety of roles relevant to a manager’s job (Mintzberg, 1973), the existence of multiple stakeholders in the manager’s social structure (Salancik et al., 1975; Tsui, 1984) and the tendency to rely on subjective judgements when assessing managerial performance (Ashford and Tsui, 1991).
Definitions of career development in the context of HRD are useful in helping us to determine the focus and content of career-focused learning and development (Egan et al., 2006). Definitions by Cummings and Worley (2005), Boudreaux (2001) and Sampson et al. (1998), for example, suggest that career-focused learning and development activities focus on the individual manager, facilitate the alignment of the manager’s subjective and objective career, facilitate the acquisition of competencies designed to seek new career opportunities and emphasise the need for ongoing development planning and action towards personal, work and life goals. The term career-focused learning and development as used in this research denotes development from learning activities that are undertaken to enhance employment related skills and competencies by capturing the ongoing nature of employability driven career management. It significantly differs from lifelong learning which is more focused on learning undertaken in civic, social and employment contexts and which is not necessarily related to a manager’s career (European Commission, 2002).
The dominant research designs found in the literature reveal that the decision to participate in learning and development results from an interplay between individuals within organisations and social structures (Wang and Wang, 2004). These designs, while useful, have a number of weaknesses which need to be addressed in future theory building. They sometimes do not sufficiently distinguish between mandatory and voluntary participation (Wang and Wang, 2004). Models which explain voluntary participation need to address concepts such as autonomy, career exploration and planning and self-efficacy. Aspects of context such as the extent and types of learning and development opportunities would appear to be a particularly relevant variable to include in a model which focuses on managers. The extent of these opportunities tends to be overlooked in existing models.
In order to understand the participation of managers in CFLD, a three-level framework based on the framework presented by Carbery and Garavan (2007) is proposed which allows for a layered understanding of influencing factors on participation in CFLD. Each level of this framework comprises of a latent construct which is hypothesised to influence the dependent latent variable, participation in CFLD. Within each of these latent constructs are directly observed independent variables. At the micro-level of the framework different types of human capital such as education, current skills, responsibility and time since promotion are included as key influences on participation. The meso-level focuses on dispositions, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of managers, and includes preferences, desires and other dispositions such as autonomy, attitudes to learning, career exploration and self-efficacy. The macro-level focuses on aspects of context and include characteristics of organisations and individuals. Each level is explained in turn.
Figure 1 presents the proposed theoretical framework. The constructs of the framework are explained and a number of hypotheses are suggested to elucidate the aims of the research.
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework Explaining Manager Participation in Career-Focused Learning and Development
Conceptual Framework
Micro-Level: Human Capital Characteristics: Human capital variables do not operate in isolation but are impacted by dispositional characteristics of the manager and characteristics of context. Four human capital characteristics of managers are included in the framework – educational attainment; expectations of future responsibilities; job experience; and time since last promotion. Educational attainment is inconsistent in explaining participation in CFLD. Levels of education and training may have an impact on personal motivation and how a manager perceives both work and career. Education may not be significant when looking at managers due to the suggestion that while education levels gain initial organisational entry, it is more the subjective social factors and networks that lead to advancement to managerial level (Ibarra and Smith-Lovin, 1997). However, Belanger and Tuijnman (1997) find that education level is the strongest predictor of an individuals’ participation in learning and development and may be linked to motivation to learn. The longer the duration in education and the higher the level of education attainment, the greater the propensity of individuals to participate in organised formal learning activities through their working lives.
Proposition 1: Higher levels of educational attainment are positively related to participation in CFLD.
A manager’s job experience is likely to impact upon the perceived value the manager places on learning and development opportunities. The extent to which managers have control over their own learning and personal development is dependent on role and structural features within the organisation. In this context, the more scope managers have to learn, the more opportunity they in turn will have to drive learning and development which focuses on self and career. Accordingly, it is expected that managers at middle and senior levels have the scope to participate in self-directed CFLD on an ongoing basis (Bosley et al., 2006). Garofano and Salas (2005) propose that previous work experience, which is developmental in nature, will impact both career exploration and motivation to learn. Prior work experience will influence beliefs concerning the value of learning and development as well as their motivation to participate.
Proposition 2: The amount of job experience is positively related to managerial participation in CFLD.
A manager’s perception of the likelihood of increased future responsibilities is important in the context of career plateaus. Recently, career advancement in terms of vertical promotion has become more competitive as organisational structures have become more horizontal. Career plateau is defined as “the point in one’s career at which the probability of a vertical assignment or of a promotion in the near future is not very likely” (Ference et al., 1977). More managers tend to perceive that it is getting tougher to go up the hierarchy in their organisations (Jung and Tak, 2008). Within this type of environment, perceived career plateau has become one of the major stressors that can be found in organisations (Rosen and Jerdee, 1990). Managers who perceive their career advancement is no longer possible in the future are also likely to have low levels of work motivation. Perceived career plateau has been negatively related to job satisfaction and career satisfaction (Burke, 1989; Chao, 1990; Ettington, 1998; Lee, 2003; Trembley et al., 1995). Perceived career plateau has also been significantly related to absenteeism (Near, 1984), intention to leave (Lemire et al., 1999), and job performance (Ettington, 1998; Lemire et al., 1999). It is argued that managers will attempt to ameliorate the effects of a career plateau and low likelihood of future responsibilities in an organisation by increasing their employability and participating in CFLD activities. The extent of time since last promotion is also likely to be important in this context. The greater the time since a manager was promoted the more likely s/he is to participate in CFLD.
Proposition 3: Low likelihood of future responsibilities is positively related to participation of managers in CFLD activities.
Proposition 4: Time since last promotion is positively related to participation of managers in CFLD activities.
Meso-Level: Dispositions, Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs: Career concepts such as the protean, authentic and portfolio career place emphasis on the manager to take responsibility for managing his/her own career. The manager’s own personal career choices and search for self-fulfilment represent core elements of these concepts. They highlight the important role of dispositions, attitudes and beliefs in CFLD as significant considerations in explaining the manager’s participation in such activities. It is postulated that these dispositions, attitudes and beliefs can be operationalised through motivation to learn.
Attitudes and beliefs regarding development activities are believed to be important determinants of participation (Noe et al., 1997). Motivation to learn, measured as the desire to learn the content of the development program, has been suggested to be directly related to both participation and effectiveness. Studies have shown that motivation to learn is positively related to learning and program completion (Baldwin et al., 1991). It is posited that dispositional characteristics are important structuring components that shape a manager’s learning behaviour. There is some debate concerning the extent to which these characteristics can be manipulated or changed (Garafano and Salas, 2005). Four important characteristics are focused upon which are place at the meso-level in the framework: autonomy, general self-efficacy and task-specific self-efficacy, and understanding of development needs. The first three factors mediate attitude towards participation whereas the latter mediates the development climate. Attitude towards participation, the development climate, perceived benefits of participation in CFLD, and career exploration and planning are hypothesised to influence motivation to learn.
Motivation to Learn: Baldwin et al. (1991) find that motivation to learn is positively related to participation in learning and completion of learning. This framework highlights the mediating processes that underpin motivation to learn: attitude towards participation, developmental climate, perceived benefits of learning and development, and career exploration and planning.
It may be possible to further examine the motivational processes that underpin the notion of the self-directed manager as learner through a further extrapolation of a motivational model within the wider participation in CFLD framework.
Potentially useful tenets to understand motivation in this context are Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1970) theory of reasoned action and Deci and Ryan’s (1985) self-determination theory (Carbery and Garavan, 2011). The theory of reasoned action suggests that when people have to make complex decisions (in this case, whether or not to engage in CFLD), they draw on information available to them at the time to arrive at a behavioural intention decision. Three variables influence this decision to participate: attitude towards participation in CFLD activities; developmental climate – social supports or situational constraints that encourage or hinder participation; and perceived benefits of participating in CFLD. The attitudinal literature has consistently demonstrated that intentions are the single best predictor of actual behaviour (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Mowday et al., 1984). It is suggested that career exploration and planning also mediates motivation to learn
Proposition 5: Motivation to learn is positively related to participation of managers in CFLD activities
Proposition 6: Career exploration and planning, a high attitude towards participation, a supportive developmental climate and high perceived of benefits of CFLD are positively related to managers’ motivation to learn
Attitude Towards Participation: Three individual characteristics have a mediating influence on attitudes towards participation: autonomy, general self-efficacy, task-specific self-efficacy of the manager. The concept of autonomy underpins current conceptions of career (Quay et al., 2003). The boundary less career envisages autonomy in a psychological sense to move across boundaries, between jobs, functions and skill sets. The concept places particular emphasis on the perception of the capacity to make successful transitions. The protean and authentic career concepts emphasise a self-directed approach to learning and the idea that it is the manager who drives the career (Hall, 2002). The manager is expected to adopt a mindset which highlights freedom, self-direction and the selection of career and learning opportunities which are based on the manager’s personal values. Autonomy is defined as a situation where the manager takes the initiative to identify learning needs and goals, select appropriate learning strategies and participate in CLFD (Elligner, 2004; Knowles, 1975). Autonomy can be operationalised through motivational processes (Deci and Ryan, 1985; Connell and Wellorn, 1991) with different categories of motivation reflecting different levels of autonomy. The highest degree of autonomy is intrinsic motivation. This refers to participation in learning for its own sake; to experience the inherent pleasure and satisfaction that derives from participation (Deci, 1975). Extrinsic motivation implies engagement or participation as a means to an end rather than for any intrinsic satisfaction.
Attitudes towards learning and social influence are mediated by socio-contextual factors that facilitate the natural processes of self-motivation towards participation. Deci and Ryan (1985) have developed a typology of these socio-contextual factors under the rubric of self-determination theory. It is a motivational approach based on the relative importance of specific psychological needs – competence and autonomy – to understand why individuals engage in self-directed activities, self-directed participation in CFLD in this case.
The need for competence implies that individuals seek to be effective in their interaction with the environment. Thus, a perception of competence must exist when individuals participate in learning and development activities. For optimal psychological functioning this must be accompanied by a sense of autonomy. The concept of self-efficacy can be used to capture perceptions of self-competence. Self-efficacy refers to an individuals’ confidence in their ability to organise and carry out a particular course of action to solve a problem or complete a task (Bandura, 1977; 1986). Research suggests that self-efficacy is an important determinant of an individual’s desire to participate in learning and development (Noe, 1986; Noe and Schmitt, 1986).
The need for autonomy indicates that individuals seek choice in the initiation, maintenance and regulation of human behaviour. This suggests that voluntary learning and development activities, undertaken out of choice, satisfy the need for autonomy as opposed to organisationally prescribed activities. Operationalising autonomy is usually done through motivational processes (Deci and Ryan, 1985; Connell and Wellorn, 1991) with different categories of motivation reflecting different levels of autonomy.