International Journal of Commerce and Management

An analysis of career advancement among engineers in manufacturing organizations

Ramayah Thurasamy May-Chiun Lo Adida Yang Amri Noorhayati Noor
Article information:
To cite this document:
Ramayah Thurasamy May-Chiun Lo Adida Yang Amri Noorhayati Noor, (2011),"An analysis of career
advancement among engineers in manufacturing organizations", International Journal of Commerce and
Management, Vol. 21 Iss 2 pp. 143 - 157
Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10569211111144346
Downloaded on: 22 August 2016, At: 01:22 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 45 other documents.
To copy this document: [email protected]
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 876 times since 2011*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
(2011),"Predictors of academics' career advancement at Malaysian private universities", Journal of
European Industrial Training, Vol. 35 Iss 6 pp. 589-605 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090591111150112
(2007),"Considerations in organizational career advancement: what really matters", Personnel Review, Vol.
36 Iss 2 pp. 190-205 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00483480710726109
(2009),"Career advancement and family balance strategies of executive women", Gender in Management:
An International Journal, Vol. 24 Iss 6 pp. 388-411 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17542410910980388

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:333301 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for
Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines
are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company
manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as
providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee
on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive
preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1056-9219.htm

An analysis
An analysis of career of career
advancement among engineers advancement
in manufacturing organizations
143
Ramayah Thurasamy
School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
May-Chiun Lo
Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Sarawak,
Malaysia, and
Adida Yang Amri and Noorhayati Noor
School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malyasia
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

Abstract
Purpose – This research aims to study the effect of gender, supervisors’ support, and tenure of
service on objective and perceived career advancement among engineers employed in Malaysian
manufacturing organizations in Northern Peninsular Malaysia. It begins by noting the centrality of
inequality in gender and career advancement and also aims at providing a direct picture of tenure of
service, which is among the factors least looked at when analyzing career advancement. The study
also attempts to analyze the supervisor’s support in relation to career advancement. Moderating the
elements above are the demographic variables such as age, marital status, education level, and the
location of the tertiary education institution.
Design/methodology/approach – By using a judgemental sampling method, a total of
158 engineers from ten multinational manufacturing companies were identified for this study.
Findings – The findings suggest that career advancement is very much related to gender,
supervisor’s support, and service tenure. It was also noted that women in male-dominated occupations,
which is in this case the engineering field, tend to be subjected to the problems of performance
pressures, social isolation, and stereotyping.
Practical implications – This study’s framework has allowed for a better understanding of how
perceptions are formed and the mechanisms linking these variables to the career advancement. This
study perhaps is the first that has systematically attempted to integrate the various constructs as
mentioned and employees’ career advancement in organizations.
Originality/value – There is a gap in the literature concerning how demographic factors influence
career advancement. This study has revealed that there is no clear distinction between career
advancement and marital status for either male or female engineers as the statistical result disclosed
no significant differences in marital status as a moderating element to the independent variables.
Keywords Career advancement, Gender, Supervisor’s support, Service tenure, Demographics,
Manufacturing industries
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
The interest in career advancement could be related to the theory of “survival of the International Journal of Commerce
fittest.” Every career-minded individual is probably focused on wanting to know the and Management
Vol. 21 No. 2, 2011
“recipe,” or factors that would allow them to be the fittest, or at least be among the fittest, pp. 143-157
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
to compete in the corporate jungle (Farmer, 1997). The thirst for career advancement is 1056-9219
unquenchable and thus has led to many researchers spending time and effort analyzing DOI 10.1108/10569211111144346
 IJCOMA career advancement factors. As stated by Garavan et al. (2006), research on career
21,2 advancement has focused on how the shape of traditional career paths has changed due
to increasing environmental uncertainty. Issues related to career advancement have
been extensively analyzed over the past four decades (Gattiker and Larwood, 1988).
Among the areas of studies are the relationship of career advancement with sociology
(Wong et al., 1985), psychology (Korman, 1980), socio-economics (Whitely and
144 Dougherty, 1991), and behavioural studies (Turban and Dougherty, 1994). Departing
from the previous studies, the study looks at career advancement in terms of human
development, which distinguishes the study from the rest.
In this research, the general objective is to analyze the effect of gender, supervisor’s
support, and tenure of service on objective and perceived career advancement among
engineers in the manufacturing organizations located in Northern Peninsular Malaysia.
It also tries to explore the effect of moderating factors, namely, the location of tertiary
education, education level, age, and marital status on the relationship between gender,
supervisor’s support and tenure of service with objective and perceived career
advancement. Thus, the study attempts to answer the following questions:
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

.
Are there any significant relationships between gender, supervisor’s support and
tenure of service and career advancement?
.
Do tertiary education location, education level, and demographic elements
moderate the relationship between gender, supervisor’s support and tenure of
service and career advancement?

Review of literature
Career advancement is interpreted differently from one individual to another. Most of
the time, upward movement in job level or title and an increase in earnings are used as
a scale in quantifying career advancement (Ang, 2000). Past literatures have found
that, between the two measurements items mentioned above, increase in earnings is
more frequently chosen. This is mainly due to the fact that an increase in monetary
amount represents a variable that can be measured fairly objectively (Schneer and
Reitman, 1994).
However, upward movement in occupational status and an increase in income do
not necessarily equate to career advancement. There is another “internal” element
within the individual that determines advancement level (Korman et al., 1981). This can
be illustrated by observing how different individuals put different weight on different
elements, especially when it comes to measuring career advancement. In addition
to that, what a person perceives as advancement may vary from one individual to
another. The study refers to this scenario as “perceived career advancement” which is
based on the individual’s definition and values (Ang, 2000; Korman et al., 1981).
Hence, it is obvious that the meaning of objective and perceived career
advancements are independent from one another (Judge and Higgins, 1999; Cox and
Harquail, 1991). To have a better understanding of career advancement, both objective
and perceived career advancements will be investigated in order to have a balanced
measurement tool of career advancement.

Gender
It has been widely documented that women in general face unique challenges in their
quest for success, as women must negotiate within a rigid system, which is based
 on criteria weighted on men (Ang, 2000). Cutler and Jackson (2002) revealed that An analysis
partners’ careers have different impact on the advancement plans of men and women of career
given the fact that most married women generally have working partners, but many
men do not. This statement clearly reflects that gender-role stereotyping does affect advancement
women’s career aspirations; women have to constantly compete against men in
proving their abilities in almost any field. It is even tougher for women working in a
male-dominated field such as engineering. A study done by Mcllwee and Robinson 145
(1992) on engineers working in manufacturing industries in the USA highlighted that
the aspects of engineering cultures act to retard women’s career advancement
compared to men’s. One of the cultural elements noted is that women are often given
insignificant tasks or projects compared to their male colleagues. This is further
supported by Kanter (1997), who stated that women are shunned and excluded from
informal and formal work groups when they enter male-dominated fields. There is
evidence that women are seen as experiencing more complexity in making career
choices as they are more likely to concentrate on personal interests such as childcare
and housing (Carter et al., 2003). Therefore, based on the literature mentioned above, it
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

is vital to pay more attention and create awareness of the female role, particularly in
the engineering field.
Studies on masculinity and engineering have long been associated with male
domination because the field is said to demand essentially masculine traits or simply
because technology is where the power is (Jorunn-Berg, 1997). This phenomenon
leads to women in engineering fields being perceived as trying to invade and share
the traditionally male-dominated area. In addition to that, achieving control and
domination over nature has remained a powerful problem of technology within
engineering (Easlea, 1981). According to Wajman (1991), technology is understood as a
“masculine culture” and male domination is recognized as one of the principal items
responsible for shaping the current gender association with engineers.
The whole issue about gender being associated with the engineering field as
mentioned earlier places women at the least advantaged stage throughout their career
stages. Many previous studies have suggested that women in a manufacturing
environment do not get the same amount of support as men do (Brett and Stroh, 1999).
A study done by Schneer and Reitman (1994) revealed that based on the perception of
career satisfaction in the mid-career stage, women at the early stage of their careers
have a lower career satisfaction level as compared to men. As they move towards the
middle career stage, the satisfaction declines even further, while for men, it remains the
same. These findings support the notion that women face barriers in their career
advancement, thus leading to a decline in their work satisfaction. The study also
reported that although one quarter of women respondents are satisfied with their
present positions, they still emphasize the existence of subtle discriminatory behaviors
and practices in the organizations. Often, the favor is more towards men (Schneer and
Reitman, 1994). In a nutshell, there are different sets of treatment for men and women.
These treatments are the ones that color the perceptions and chances of career
advancement for both men and women.
Generally, women in male-dominated occupations will be subjected to problems
such as performance pressures, social isolation, and stereotyping (Kanter, 1997). In an
environment that appears to acknowledge women workers, male co-workers will
signal to women that their presence is unwelcome (Jacobs, 1999). The male dominant
 IJCOMA group may continue to regard women as different and unacceptable, perhaps tolerated
21,2 but not assimilated. Therefore, most of the time women engineers, especially those at
the higher level, very often will require the supervisor’s support in order to avoid being
viewed as inferior in a male-dominated field.

Supervisor’s support
146 Supervisor’s support is one of the key factors that help to enhance individuals’ career
growth. Good supervisors help the subordinates feel stronger and more responsible,
they reward subordinates for good performances, and delegate workload accordingly.
It is important in all work fields to have a good supervisor as the influence of the
supervisor can determine one’s growth or failure in work. According to Steer (1994), the
extent to which the supervisor demonstrates consideration for and interest in
employees is important in fostering employees’ beliefs in the supervisor’s support
towards the person.
Subordinates need supervisor’s support in relation to career advancement (Brett
and Stroh, 1999). This is mainly due to supervisors having the mandate in his or her
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

subordinates’ career growth. Support from supervisors can come in many ways. They
include:
(1) nominating the subordinate for promotions;
(2) providing opportunities for the subordinate to demonstrate his or her
competencies;
(3) suggesting useful strategies for the subordinate to achieve work and career
objectives;
(4) protect the subordinate from the “repercussions of errors” and help them to
avoid situations that may threaten the subordinates career; and
(5) finally, but most importantly, expose the subordinate to top management’s
attention (Ang, 2000).

Often female employees are given roles which support others’ roles, therefore, leaving
them to work “behind the curtains,” while others go on stage and perform (Farmer,
2000). Therefore, having a supportive supervisor is very important in career
advancement especially for women engineers. This is important as female engineers
are already competing with other male colleagues in a field that is dominated by men
and they would be further oppressed if they were to have supervisors who are biased in
terms of professional gender preferences.
In addition, gender-biased technical exposure opportunities will affect career
development opportunities. This is because, most of the time, important technology
transfer involves a long-term assignment to another location where the new technology
is available. Supervisors would have to assign the most-qualified person to handle the
assignment. Most of the time, women are not chosen (Brett and Stroh, 1999). This
situation worsens if the criteria for the choice are clouded by the supervisor’s gender
preferences. On top of that, relocation provides opportunities for exposure to the latest
technology. Indirectly, when a promotion opportunity comes along, those who have
more technological exposure will be at a higher advantage as compared to those
without. In this situation, having a supportive supervisor is important, as then only
will the technical exposure be given equally to the team, regardless of any favoritism.
 In line with the above, Liu (2000), in her research on career mobility among Chinese An analysis
employees, noted that the presence of supervisor’s support in an organization affects of career
career advancement and employee’s mobility. Having optimum supervisor support is
viewed as having better chances for promotion and conversely will lead to high advancement
employees’ turnover (Liu, 2000).

Service tenure 147

Service tenure refers to the length of period that a person is employed in a permanent
job. As noted by Carbery et al. (2003), even though evidences have indicated of
declining job tenure, managers are still likely to stay in organizations which provide
career advancement and learning opportunities. There are two measurements of
particular interest in this study. First, the total number of working years which covers
the length of period from first permanent employment dates to the current permanent
employment date. Second, the average duration time spent in each of the permanent
positions. These measurements are in line with the measurement items used by
Liu (2000) in her research on career mobility in China. In that research, it is noted that
differences in perception on frequency of mobility in relation to gender is a reality.
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

Service tenure is highly related to occupational mobility. In fact, according to

Liu (2000), the two are part of the characteristics of industrialization since the rate of
economic development is directly proportional to occupational mobility in a society.
As noted, when an individual’s social status depends mainly on occupational position,
the rate and direction of occupational mobility are major indicators of a social group’s
status and thus changes as people tend to move in pursuit of higher status, position,
and salary (Brett and Stroh, 1997). This then implies that short mobility is the key to
higher pay for employees. Generally, greater benefits and remunerations are associated
with greater job mobility. Therefore, employees change jobs to bring their current level
of rewards in line with their career potential. According to Brett and Stroh (1997), the
rate for changing jobs will slow down when employees receive rewards which they feel
commensurate with their expertise.
Mobility or job change is lesser among those who have reached more than three
years of employment in a particular organization (Stroh et al., 1995). The most crucial
years of employment are the first two years, as during this period an employee will
assesses the organization for potential and suitability for long-term employment
(Stroh et al., 1992). According to Sonnenfeld and Peiperl (1988), the average number of
years that are considered as reasonable for a person to move on from one organization
to another is 2.8 years, as any movement that is , 2.8 years and in regular intervals
would lead to a negative perception on the individuals. Potential employers would view
such individuals as “job hoppers” and unreliable workers (Stroh et al., 1992). Finnis
Conner, Service Award Presentation, May 1996, the founder of the Conner Peripherals
Company, during a service award presentation to long servicing employees in
his company, was quoted as saying:
If an employee stays in an organization after three years, there is a big possibility that the
employee will last till five years. If an employee stays after five years, there is a possibility of
the employee to stay on till the eighth years and if he stays after the eighth years he will sure
to stay on till the tenth.
This is mainly because those who have worked for more than three years in an
organization will often find that the existing job’s rewards and the increased
 IJCOMA accumulated benefits (such as annual leave, stock options) are more attractive than
21,2 the cost involved in switching jobs and having to start afresh in a new organization
(Stroh et al., 1992).
In a job mobility comparison between, men and women, it is found that men are
more active in changing employment as compared to women (Liu, 2000). There are two
major kinds of occupational mobility:
148 (1) Vertical flow – that is, moving from one occupation to another of a higher or
lower social status.
(2) Lateral flow – that is, mobility between occupations of the same level.

Most of the time, women move based on lateral transfer partly due to family
commitments, whereas men choose to move vertically (Liu, 2000; Farmer, 1997).
Liu (2000) revealed that the percentage of men moving upward is clearly higher than that
of women. This shows that men change jobs more frequently than women and with
every job change, the gap between the women’s and the men’s earning becomes bigger,
thus leaving the women further behind in terms of objective career advancement as
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

compared to men.

Research model and hypotheses

Figure 1 shows the research model for this study.

Gender
Based on the fact that men have dominated the engineering field, it is obvious that
women find it difficult to penetrate the field. As such, it is witnessed that even the most
successful women in the engineering field opt to leave the organizations where they
work in order to pursue their own personal desired career growth. One of the reasons is
because women value equality more than men, and men tend to value family security
more than women (Carter et al., 2003). Therefore, it can be said that:
H1a. There is a significant difference between male and female engineers with
regards to their objective career advancement.
H1b. There is a significant difference between male and female engineers with
regards to their perceived career advancement.

Independent variables Dependent variables

Gender Career
Supervisor’s support advancement
Service tenure

Demographics variables
(Age, marital status, education level)

Location of the tertiary education institution

Figure 1. (Malaysia or outside Malaysia)
Research Model
Moderating variables
 Supervisor’s support An analysis
This variable is selected mainly because the study believes that supervisors have a of career
significant influence in a person’s career advancement. This is in line with past studies
(Filer, 1990; England, 1982) which note that a supervisor’s role is an important item in a advancement
person’s career growth. This leads to the hypotheses below:
H2a. A supervisor’s support has a positive impact on objective career
advancement. 149
H2b. A supervisor’s support has a positive impact on perceived career
advancement.

Service tenure
The longer a person stays in a place, the more knowledge is supposed to be gained.
Service tenure is significant especially as a quick measuring tool in quantifying work
expertise. This is seen with many interview sheets that provide columns for potential
candidates to complete their experiences and service tenure. This is mainly done to
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

provide a quick picture of the candidate’s strength and work experience. Therefore, the
study wishes to analyze the impact of service years on career advancement, especially
in this era where there seems to be plenty of opportunities in engineering fields. Thus,
we hypothesize that:
H3a. Tenure of service has a positive impact on objective career advancement.
H3b. Tenure of service has a positive impact on perceived career advancement.

Moderating variables (age, marital status, education level, location of

tertiary education)
Is it true that supervisors prefer to have younger subordinates compared to those who
are elder than the supervisors themselves? With this question in mind, the analysis
looks at how age affects individual’s career advancement. Research by Helyar and
Cherry (2005) has postulated that employers choose to terminate older employees as
part of business necessity in view of the fact that these employees earned high
compensation due to their longevity on the job. Does increase in age parallel career
advancement or does career advancement progress downwards with age? This study
hopes to be able to have an answer to this question.
Mohamed Khan (1996) noted that marital status has a significant effect in women’s
career advancement. Therefore, this study wishes to analyze the effect of marital status
as a moderating variable and see whether there exists any significant moderating
effect in relation to career advancement in the engineering field.
Education level is suspected to moderate the relationship between the independent
variables and career advancement. This is based on Rosenbaum’s (1979) analysis that
employment promotion in times of high economic growth is highly related to education
level and that, in times of low economic growth, gender biases that emphasize male
employees exist. Besides, according to Gjerberg (2003), based on human capital
theories, women’s employment patterns are reflected by their investments in education
and career. In relation to present economic slow down, this study wishes to analyze the
impact of education level in moderating the other independent variables in relation to
career advancement.
 IJCOMA Location of tertiary education institution is identified as one of the moderating
21,2 variables, mainly due to the exposure element that is attached with being away from
home and also the value that is attached to having an overseas degree compared to a
local university degree. The study suspected that there could be differences in terms of
perception and work culture between those who are locally graduated versus those
who have been exposed to a different culture while studying overseas. The differences
150 in perception and exposure could lead to differences in the way a person portrays
himself which thus could contribute positively or negatively towards career
advancement:
H4a. Age will moderate the relationship between gender, supervisor’s support, and
tenure of service with objective career advancement.
H4b. Age will moderate the relationship between gender, supervisor’s support, and
tenure of service with perceived career advancement.
H5a. Marital status will moderate the relationship between gender, supervisor’s
support, and tenure of service with objective career advancement.
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

H5b. Marital status will moderate the relationship between gender, supervisor’s
support, and tenure of service with perceived career advancement.
H6a. Education level will moderate the relationship between gender, supervisor’s
support, and tenure of service with objective career advancement.
H6b. Education level will moderate the relationship between gender, supervisor’s
support, and tenure of service with perceived career advancement.
H7a. Tertiary education location will moderate the relationship between gender,
supervisor’s support, and tenure of service with objective career
advancement.
H7b. Tertiary education location will moderate the relationship between gender,
supervisor’s support, and tenure of service with perceived career
advancement.

Methodology
Population and sample
The population analyzed for this study is specifically limited to engineers working
in manufacturing organizations in Northern Peninsular Malaysia. These areas are
chosen because these are among the developed industrial areas in Northern Malaysia.
Second, this is because the industries in these areas are heavily dependent on
advanced technology, and finally, due to the fact that industries in these areas are
highly dependent on a women workforce (Tiun and Marsitah, 1994). The role of women
and technology overlaps in these areas, therefore, it would be very enlightening for
companies that operate within this area to know the factors that affect women’s career
advancement so that better steps can be taken in retaining and attracting female
professionals, especially engineers.
By using a judgemental sampling method, a total of ten multinational manufacturing
companies were identified for this study. They are of similar categories with an average
of eight operation years in Northern Malaysia. The organizations taken have been
 carefully selected to ensure that all have similar qualities in terms of size, status, An analysis
technology, and ranking. This is done to provide a general control over the respondents’
work exposure and experience, which could color the way the questionnaires
of career
are answered. advancement
Variables and measurement
The research instrument is constructed from various relevant past studies. The 151
summary of the dimension studied, list of instruments, and item used are presented in
Table I. The analysis proceeded with hypothesis testing using t-test, regression, and
multiple regressions.

Findings
Table II shows the demographic profile of the respondents.
Table III presents the result of the regression analysis. As shown in the table,
gender, supervisor’s support and service tenure can explain 39 percent ( p , 0.01)
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

Dimension studied Instrument used Item No. Total

1 Perceived career advancement Greenhaus et al. (1990) 1-5 5

Turban and Dougherty (1994) 6-9 4
Porter et al. (1979) 10-12 3
2 Supervisor’s support Porter et al. (1979) 13-18 6
Greenhaus et al. (1990) 19-25 7 Table I.
3 Personal background Self report 26-34 9 Dimension studied,
4 Service tenure Self report 35-36 2 instrument used and
5 Objective career advancement Ansari (1982) 37-40 4 distribution of
Total 40 questionnaire items

Demographics Frequency Percentage

Gender Male 90 58.4

Female 64 41.6
Race Malay 76 49.4
Chinese 44 28.6
Indian 32 20.8
Others 2 1.3
Marital status Single 49 31.8
Married 104 67.5
Divorced 1 0.6
Highest educational qualification Degree 126 81.8
Masters 28 18.2
Education location Malaysia 69 44.8
Outside Malaysia 85 55.2
Job level Low 69 44.8
Middle 65 42.2
Upper 20 13
Report to Manager 56 36.4 Table II.
Director 40 26 Demographic
General manager 35 22.7 characteristics
VP/CEO 23 14.9 of respondents
 IJCOMA
Perceived career advancement Objective career advancement
21,2
Gender 20.06 -0.29 * *
(male ¼ 0; female ¼ 1)
Supervisor’s support 0.59 * * 0.21 * *
Service tenure 0.12 * 0.19 * *
152 R2 0.39 0.19
Adjusted R 2 0.38 0.17
F-value 31.72 * * 11.42 * *
Table III.
Durbin Watson 1.62 1.94
Regression analysis
results Note: Significance at: p , *0.05 and p , * *0.01 levels

of the variation in perceived career advancement, whereas it can only explain about
19 percent ( p , 0.01) of the variation in objective career advancement.
A closer look at the individual variables shows that only supervisor’s support
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

(b ¼ 0.59, p , 0.01) and service tenure (b ¼ 0.12, p , 0.05) is positively related to

perceived career advancement, whereas for objective career advancement all three
variables are significant, supervisor’s support (b ¼ 0.21, p , 0.01), service tenure
(b ¼ 0.19, p , 0.01) and gender (b ¼ 2 0.29, p , 0.01) with the negative sign
indicating that females feel that in terms of monetary awards they are much lower as
compared to their male counterparts. Thus, H1a, H1c, H2a, H2b and H2c are
supported whereas, H1b is not supported.

The moderating effects of age, marital status, education level, and education location
Table IV suggests that education level does moderate the effect of gender on objective
career advancement. Age was found to moderate the effect of service on objective
career advancement. The table also indicates that there is a significant relationship
between supervisor’s support and age on objective advancement. On perceived career
advancement, there is no significant effect from all the variables.

Objective Perceived

Moderating variable b b
Age*gender 0.101 0.473
Marital status*gender 2 0.346 20.585
Education level*gender 2 0.293 * * 20.097
Education location*gender 2 0.323 0.116
Age*support 1.232 * 0.540
Marital status*support 0.359 0.135
Education level*support 0.522 0.481
Table IV. Education location*support 0.337 0.202
Summary of hierarchical Age*tenure 2 1.289 * 2 0.278
regression analysis with Marital status*tenure 0.465 0.129
objective career Education level*Tenure 2 0.030 0.103
advancement and Education location*service tenure 0.327 20.129
perceived career
advancement Note: Significance at: p , *0.05 and p , * *0.01 levels
 Discussion An analysis
The path towards career advancement differs from one individual to another of career
(Astin, 1984). Being women in male-dominated fields raises some issues in career
advancement. This paper adds to the understanding of factors supporting managers’ advancement
and professionals’ career advancement and the benefits of these practices for women.
Women seem to be treated unfairly in terms of objective career advancement. The
difference in treatment is not visibly perceived, however, it is highly significant in 153
terms of monetary gains. This is in line with a study conducted by Easlea (1981) in the
USA on a group of medical representatives. She noted that women in medical
fields in the USA receive lesser career advancement opportunities and monetary gains
as compared to their male counterparts. This is further supported by the research of
Koyuncu et al. (2006) which found significant gender differences in professional
occupations. In other words, difference in objective career advancement is not
an isolated case, as it happens in almost all fields and especially so in male-dominated
fields (Farmer, 2000).
The study has also found that education levels moderate the effect of gender on
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

objective career advancement. The difference in objective career advancement is only

significant to the lower education group and that significance becomes lesser
when education level increases. The results are also congruent with the findings of
Garavan et al. (2006) which revealed that respondents have better salary increments
corresponding with their level of education.
Some people would attribute advancement to being at the right place at the right
time, but the probability of having the luck is indeed very rare. The next closest
element to having good luck is to have a supportive supervisor (Farmer, 2000).
A supervisor can either help to prosper or kill a subordinate’s career (Steer, 1994). The
findings of the study suggested that supervisors’ support have significant effect on
individuals’ perceived and objective career advancements. This factor is not moderated
by any of the moderating elements except for age. This result is further supported in a
study conducted among accounting professionals by Moyes et al. (2006) that age is
equally important in perceptions of job attributes. This implies that supervisors will
provide more support to the younger generation as compared to the older group of
employees. This indirectly shows that the supervisor’s support is critical to a person’s
advancement, especially at the early stages of one’s career.
Finally, the study concluded that service tenure has significant impact on perceived
and objective career advancements. This is congruent with the currently popular
recruitment analysis which shows that frequent mobility which occurs in , 2.8 years
of service would make an individual appear unreliable particularly for higher level
position (Farmer, 2000). Job hoppers are often viewed as after monetary gains, as every
time a person moves from one position to another they receive a certain percentage
increase in salary. However, according to Jacob (1999), job hoppers lose out in terms of
accumulated working experiences, which could have higher future value.
This study has revealed that there is no clear distinction between career
advancement and marital status for either male or female engineers as the statistical
result disclosed no significant differences in marital status as a moderating element
to the independent variables. This result contradicted the findings of Metz (2005),
which stated that married women were more likely to report stereotypes and
perceptions as barriers to advancement. Besides, Swerdlow (1989) has also posited that,
 IJCOMA among senior managers, female managers were much more likely to be single, divorced,
21,2 or separated than male managers.
Access to male-dominated jobs is necessary for women’s career success, but such
access does not guarantee women’s continued success. In addition, the analysis has
also shown that education has significant moderating effects on gender in relation to
career advancement. Perhaps, knowledge and expertise represent the best tools
154 that can be used by women to compete with their male counterparts in the engineering
field.

Implications
Despite the fact that elements such as gender, supervisor’s support, and service tenure
are important factors as a basic requirement for an employees’ career advancement,
there have been very few empirical researches on these independent variables, the
presence of demographic variables as well as the location of tertiary education
institution, aligned with career advancement in the manufacturing industry. Thus, this
study’s framework has allowed for a better understanding of how perceptions are
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

formed and the mechanisms linking these variables to the career advancement. This
study is perhaps the first that has systematically attempted to integrate the various
constructs as mentioned and employees’ career advancement in organizations.
In addition, this study provides a basis for researchers who are interested in
this field to further test the relationships among these constructs, especially in the
manufacturing industry. Hence, by drawing upon the diverse literatures, this study has
inevitably and successfully developed some guidelines for scholars as well as leaders
on factors affecting career advancement.

Limitations
As with any research, this study has several limitations. The results of this research
have underscored the importance of solving the issue of formal and informal
networking and their relationship with career advancement. This is a subtle but
potentially intriguing difference. Perhaps, future research should examine the power of
networking in order to supplement and complement the findings of the current
research. Besides, factors such as situation and organizational climate would probably
have an impact on career advancement. Therefore, perhaps future research could
investigate the impact of peers, characteristics of the situations, the organizational
climate, and the characteristics of the followers and leaders on the more effective way
of career advancement.
In addition to that, this study has relied primarily on samples drawn specifically
from the workers in the manufacturing sectors. Thus, it is not certain whether the
results obtained can be generalized to professional level jobs in other industries such as
education, medicine, tourism, or hospitality and service sectors.

Conclusion
The results of this study confirm results of previous studies that demographic
variables do play an instrumental role in the eventual use of influence tactics.
Inevitably, this study provides a conceptual foundation for career advancement.
It has also enhanced understanding about the antecedent of career advancement,
which subsequently results in better knowledge of the career advancement factors
 fundamental to employees’ work-related attitudes and behaviors. This study also An analysis
extends extant research on the various factors which contribute to career advancement of career
and hopefully stimulates the need for more research incorporating the perspectives of
both parties. advancement

References
155
Ang, C.H.M. (2000), “Effects of mentoring and goal orientation on managerial career success”,
MBA thesis, School of Management, University Science Malaysia, Gelugor.
Ansari, M.A. (1982), “The semantic-differential profiles of successful executives”, Indian
Psychologist, Vol. 1, pp. 70-8.
Astin, H. (1984), “The meaning of work in women’s life: a sociopsychological model of career
choice and work behavior”, Counseling Psychologist, Vol. 12, pp. 117-26.
Brett, J.M. and Stroh, L.K. (1997), “Jumping ship: who benefits from an external labor market
career strategy?”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 82, pp. 331-41.
Brett, J.M. and Stroh, L.K. (1999), “Women in management: how far have we come and what
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

needs to be done as we approach 2000”, Journal of Management Inquiry, Vol. 8, pp. 392-8.
Carbery, R., Garavan, T.N., O’Brien, F. and McDonnell, J. (2003), “Predicting hotel managers’
turnover cognitions”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 18, pp. 649-79.
Carter, N.M., Gartner, W.B. and Shaver, K.G. (2003), “The career reasons of nascent
entrepreneurs”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 18, pp. 13-39.
Cox, T.H. and Harquail, C.V. (1991), “Career paths and career success in the early of male and
female MBAs”, Journal of Vocational Behavior Career Stages, Vol. 39, pp. 54-75.
Cutler, M.M. and Jackson, A.L. (2002), “A ‘glass ceiling’ or work/family conflicts?”, Journal of
Business & Economic Studies, Vol. 8, pp. 73-82.
Easlea, R. (1981), “Women in British broadcasting: an examination of perceived opportunities
and constraints”, Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal, Vol. 23,
pp. 3-14.
England, P. (1982), “The failure of human capital theory to explain occupational sex
segregation”, Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 17, pp. 538-50.
Farmer, H. (1997), Diversity and Women’S Career Development from Adolescent to Adulthood,
Sage, London.
Farmer, H. (2000), “Women’s job mobility processes: within and between employers”, American
Sociological Review, Vol. 75, pp. 142-51.
Filer, R.K. (1990), “Compensating differentials and the male-female wage gap: a comment”, Social
Forces, Vol. 69, pp. 469-75.
Garavan, T.N., O’Brien, F. and O’Hanlon, D. (2006), “Career advancement of hotel managers since
graduation: a comparative study”, Personnel Review, Vol. 35, pp. 252-80.
Gattiker, U.E. and Larwood, L. (1988), “Predictors for managers’ career mobility, success and
satisfaction”, Human Relations, Vol. 41 No. 8, pp. 569-91.
Gjerberg, E. (2003), “Women doctors in Norway: the challenging balance between career and
family life”, Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 57, pp. 1327-41.
Greenhaus, J.H., Parasuraman, S. and Wormley, W.M. (1990), “Effects of race on organizational
experiences, job performance evaluations, and career outcomes”, Academy of Management
Journal, Vol. 33, pp. 64-86.
Helyar, J. and Cherry, B.M. (2005), “50 and fired”, Fortune, Vol. 151, pp. 78-86.
 IJCOMA Jacobs, J.A. (1999), Revolving Doors: Sex Segregation and Women’s Careers, Stanford
University Press, New York, NY.
21,2
Jorunn, B.A. (1997), “The glass ceiling: women and mentoring in management and business”,
Employee Counselling Today, Vol. 6, pp. 21-8.
Judge, J.A. and Higgins, S.G. (1999), “Compensating differentials and wage gap: comparable
worth study”, Social Forces, Vol. 69, pp. 439-68.
156 Kanter, R.M. (1997), Men and Women of the Corporation II, Basic Books, New York, NY.
Korman, A.K. (1980), Career Success/Personal Failure, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Korman, A.K., Witting-Berman, U. and Lang, D. (1981), “Career success and personal failure:
alienation in professionals and manager”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 24,
pp. 342-60.
Koyuncu, M., Burke, R.J. and Fiksenbaum, L. (2006), “Work experience and satisfaction of male
and female professors in Turkey: signs of progress?”, Equal Opportunities International,
Vol. 25, pp. 38-47.
Liu, B.H. (2000), “Pioneers, girlfriends and wives: an agenda for research on women and the
organizational culture”, Chinese Education and Society, Vol. 33, pp. 21-73.
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

Mcllwee, K. and Robinson, S. (1992), “Returns to skill, compensating differentials, and gender
bias: effects of occupational characteristics on the wages of white women and men”,
American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 100, pp. 689-719.
Metz, I. (2005), “Advancing the careers of women with children”, Career Development
International, Vol. 10, pp. 228-45.
Mohamed Khan, N. (1996), “Effects of role overload and development opportunities on women’s
advancement”, MBA thesis, School of Management, University Science Malaysia, Gelugor.
Moyes, G.D., William, P.A. and Koch, B. (2006), “The effects of age and gender upon the
perceptions of accounting professionals concerning their job satisfaction and work-related
attributes”, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 21, pp. 536-61.
Porter, L.W., Steers, R.M. and Mowday, R.T. (1979), “The measurement of occupational
commitment”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 14, pp. 224-47.
Rosenbaum, J.E. (1979), “Organizational career mobility: promotion chances in a corporation
during periods of growth and contraction”, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 85,
pp. 21-48.
Schneer, J.A. and Reitman, F. (1994), “The importance of gender in mid career: a longitudinal
study of MBAs”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 15, pp. 199-207.
Sonnenfeld, J.A. and Peiperl, M.A. (1988), “Staffing policy as a strategic response”, American
Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 2, pp. 105-65.
Steer, S. (1994), “Supervisor’s role in occupational inequality”, American Journal of Sociology,
Vol. 102, pp. 1652-92.
Stroh, L.K., Brett, J.M. and Reilly, A.H. (1992), “All the right stuff: a comparison of female and
male managers’ career progression”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 77, pp. 251-60.
Stroh, L.K., Varma, A. and Valy, S. (1995), Women and Expatriation: Revisiting Adler’s findings,
Paul Chapman, London.
Swerdlow, M. (1989), “Men’s accommodations to women entering a nontraditional occupation”,
Gender & Society, Vol. 3, pp. 373-87.
Tiun, L.T. and Marsitah, M.R. (1994), Demography and the Development of Penang Island: Survey
on Family, Women and Work, University Science of Malaysia, Gelugor.
 Turban, D.B. and Dougherty, T.W. (1994), “Role of protégé personality in receipt of mentoring An analysis
and career success”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 37, pp. 688-702.
Wajman, R.S. (1991), “Organizing and gender division of labor: historical perspectives on
of career
women’s work and the American labor movement”, Socialist Review, Vol. 10, pp. 95-150. advancement
Whitely, W., Dougherty, T.W. and Dreher, G.F. (1991), “Relationship of career mentoring and
socioeconomic origin to managers’ and professional early career progress”, Academy of
Management Journal, Vol. 34, pp. 331-51. 157
Wong, P.T.P., Kettlewell, G. and Sproule, C.F. (1985), “On the importance of being masculine:
sex role, attribution and women’s career advancement”, Sex Roles, Vol. 12, pp. 757-67.

Further reading
Judge, T.A., Cable, D.M., Boudreau, J.W. and Bretz, R.D. (1995), “An empirical investigation of
predictors of executive career success”, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 48, pp. 485-519.

Corresponding author
Ramayah Thurasamy can be contacted at: [email protected]
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email protected]

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
 This article has been cited by:

1. Idris Osman, Fauziah Noordin, Normala Daud, Mohd Zailani Othman. 2016. The Dynamic Role of
Social Exchange and Personality in Predicting Turnover Intentions among Professional Workers. Procedia
Economics and Finance 35, 541-552. [CrossRef]
Int Journal of Commerce & Mgt 2011.21:143-157.